Finding the Light
by StarryNights513
Summary: Flora has been attacked and she is sworn not to tell anyone or face the dire consequences to her and those close to her. Flora must deal with the pain and drives the people that she loves to most. Will Flora ever be free of the attack and her attacker? TW: Rape, Abuse, and Violence.
1. The Attack

**Trigger Warning: Rape and Violence**

"Flora, do you need any help closing up? I can stay a little longer if you would like." A woman with short brown hair and fair skin asked.

"I am fine, Cara." Flora responded, "I just need to finish organizing the last of the fall order seeds." Flora said looking down at a small pile of seed envelopes that she had been sorting to be shelved.

Flora had been working for Cara at the Magix Flower and Seed Emporium for the past few months. She loved working with nature and gave her time alone away from the craziness of the Winx missions and allowed her to develop her skills. She dreamed of being a botanist and was studying plant and cell biology at the University of Magix in hope that she could use her knowledge of plants study them and put them to use in creating natural remedies for ailments. She had already bred her own tea plant that alleviated the symptoms of the flu and curbed nausea. Cara saw the passion in Flora's eyes and decided to hire her on and all Flora had been was an absolute delight. Flora was amazing with the customers as well as handling every plant and seed with care. Cara could not imagine a better employee.

"Alright, Flora. The key is under the register and no worries if you don't get everything finished tonight, I know that you have class in the morning." Cara said as she grabbed her jacket.

"You know I can't let any task go unfinished." Flora giggled. "Now go home."

"You're the best, Flora. Call if you need anything." Cara called out as she walked out the door.

Flora smiled and waved to Cara and watched her walk down the street. Flora looked down and resumed filing the seeds. She put in her headphones and started to play music, that had always made the work more fun and go by faster. After she had sorted out the seed packets she went around to the shelves to place them in their respective spots. She walked down the aisles of the store and started to place seeds in baskets when she heard the door alarm ring alerting the employees to when a customer had entered the store. Flora took out her headphones and walked to the front of the store and saw a tall man with black hair and pale skin.

"I am sorry sir, but we are closed for the day. Our hours are 9am to 10pm." Flora informed the man.

The man turned around to reveal striking green eyes and minor stubble around his chiseled jaw. "I apologize, I totally forgot about my anniversary with my girlfriend and I just got off of work and I just need to get some flowers. If you help me, I will be out of you hair in no time. Please, help a forgetful sucker like me."

"Well, I guess I could help. Do you know what your girlfriend would like? May I suggest roses? They aren't quite in season yet but I am sure that they will look beautiful nonetheless." Flora said.

"Thank you so much. Again, I am so sorry. I don't know if she would like roses, she doesn't like cliche tropes. She really likes pink dahlias, do you have any of those?" the man asked.

"I think so. If I do, they won't be out here. We have already set out our fall plants and flowers so I can check in the back for you. Just wait one moment." Flora smiled as she walked back into the store room. She walked in a room that had a light mist running through the air and sweet fragrance of the plants filled the air. Flora looked around the room a saw a gathering of pink and red dahlias in the corner of the room. She walked over and picked up the flowers and smiled at how beautiful they looked.

"They look very nice." a voice said behind Flora causing her to jump. Flora turned around and saw the man standing behind her.

"Yes, they are. You aren't supposed to be back here." Flora stammered still trying to catch her breath from being scared. The man took the flowers from her hand and placed them down on a small wooden counter.

"I don't care." the man growled as he walked closer to Flora causing Flora to walk back into the corner. "I think that I found a better flower."

"Which ones are they?" Flora asked trying to bring the focus back to the task at hand. "I think that your girlfriend would like-" Flora was silenced when she felt the man's lips on her own. Flora pushed him away and ran past the man. "I thought that you were shopping for your girlfriend?"

"I don't have a girlfriend." The man chuckled sinisterly. "I have been watching you for the past month. I know you, Flora. I know you attend the University of Magix and I know about your friends. If you tell them about what is going to happen, I will kill them. I will kill your family. Then I will kill you." the man informed as he walked closer to Flora.

"What...what are you going to do?" Flora asked through heavy breath as she backed away from the man who was slowly inching closer to her.

The man said nothing as he looked her up and down. Soon he grabbed her wrist, turned her around, and pushed her against the wall. Flora started to cry as she felt a sharp and cold object on her neck. "Please don't do this." Flora begged through her tears. Flora thought of her friends, her family, and Helia. She had never told Helia how she felt. He was her best friend and she loved him more than anything in the world. Every memory that she shared with Helia came flooding into her mind as she felt the man's hands trace her body. Flora felt the knife move from her neck and cut her shirt and bra. She felt them fall on the floor and the mist hit her body causing her to shiver.

"Don't shiver. I will warm you up, Flora." the man whispered in her ear. He then ran his hands along her back and brought them around to her breasts. Flora gasped and started to cry harder. She closed her eyes and started to think about Helia. She imagined that it was Helia holding her and caressing her skin, it made her feel warm but did not distract her enough from the attack that was happening to her.

Soon she felt her pants and underwear being pulled down, leaving her completely exposed to her attacker. The image of Helia had left her mind, nothing could make her feel better or out of the moment. She felt his hands migrate from her breasts to her inner thighs and pulled them apart. Flora's crying stopped and finally coming to realize that this was not a nightmare and that everything happening to her was real. All she could do and close her eyes and breathe slowly. Flora soon heard the sound of unbuckling and found skin against her own. Before she could process anything she felt something hard enter her. She felt her body go heavy and the only thing keeping her up was the wall and the force of the man raping her. Rape. That is what was happening to her and she couldn't do anything about it. She was paralyzed with fear and all she could feel was the man going in and out of her with the knife making slow and light cuts on her back. He grunted and moaned as he went in and out of her. She tried going back to Helia but it was no use. She felt the man thrusting in her faster and harder until he pulled out and climaxed on her back. She felt something hot on her back and knew that he had finished when she heard the sound of buckling again.

The man bent over her and whispered in her ear, "You were so tight, Flora. Were you saving yourself for me? You are such a good girl. I enjoyed our time together and I can't wait until we can be together again. Remember, tell anyone and you know what happens." the man repeated as he ran the knife down the side of Flora's face. He walked over to the pink dahlias and plucked one from the bushel. He walked over to Flora who was still in the same position as he left her in. He kissed her tear stained cheek and placed the flower in her hair. "Goodbye, Flora." He then left the back and the alarm went off indicating that he had left.

The alarm broke Flora out of the trance that she was in. She pulled up her pants and went over to small sink and mirror that was in the back room that was used for employees to wash their hands. She turned on the water and looked at herself in the mirror and quickly looked away. She was disgusting and used. She saw the red marks on her body and turned around to look at her back in the mirror. She washed her face and her body, leaving no trace of what happened only moments earlier. After washing, she looked at the bruises that were on her body and ran to grab her jacket to cover herself up. Flora ran out of the store and back to her dorm room.

 **Hey all, I am still trying to figure out where to go with my other story and I know that this one may seem dark (understandably so) but I think that I can make a good story out of it and work through some issues that I am going through. Thanks for reading the first chapter and let me know what you think.**


	2. Scalding

Flora woke up the next morning and walked past her roommate Bloom who was still sound asleep and walked to the bathroom. Flora looked at herself in the mirror and it became clear that what happened to her in the flower shop was not a dream. She could feel the pain in her back and in between her legs. She started to silently sob over the sink and turned on the shower so that nobody would hear her sob. She shared a larger dorm room with four other girls apart from Bloom. There was Bloom, her immediate roommate. Next door to her was her best friend Layla and her roommate, Stella. In the third room over there was Tecna and Musa. Together they formed the Winx, a group that had been together since high school. Each of the girls had boyfriends that called themselves the Specialists. Helia was part of the Specialists and thinking of Helia only made Flora sob harder.

Flora and Helia had been friends since they were 11 years old and now at 21, they became inseparable and Flora was madly and deeply in love with him. All she wanted was for Helia to be her first kiss, the first man to see her naked, the man to make love to her first; now hope of that ever happening was gone gone. Flora looked at herself and threw up, she could never look at herself again. What he did to her was disgusting and she felt disgusting. She then remembered that this was not the end and it made her cry harder.

Flora stripped from the clothes that she wore the day before during the attack and stepped inside of the shower, letting the warm water run down her back. She turned up the heat and soon the water started to scald her skin but she could not feel a thing. She stood in the shower and cried more as she slid down to sit in the shower. She knew that he would come for again and that she would never be safe. He said that he had been following her and that she would never be able to escape him. She was his and there was nothing that she could do. He was a dark shadow looming over her and could strike at any moment. Flora then heard a knock and snapped her head up and looked at the door.

"Flora, are you in there? You have been showering for an hour now and there is condensation coming through the door." Flora could hear Bloom shout through the door.

"I didn't realize how long I had been in here. I will be right out." Flora replied as she stood up and turned off the water. She climbed out of the shower and found her towel and picked up her clothes before walking out of the bathroom.

"It is like a sauna in there. I am going to let it air out before going in there." Bloom chuckled as she fanned herself. "Your skin is really red. Didn't that hurt?" Bloom then asked as she looked at Flora's neck and shoulders.

"I was just really sore after work last night and the hot water felt good on my muscles." Flora lied through a smile. Flora then walked over to her closet and pulled out black jeans and a dark blue hoodie that were in the back of her closet. She never wore anything dark, but she was no longer the same. She slipped on the jeans and felt every bruise as she pulled them up. She then put on a bra and the hoodie and felt the stinging of the cuts on her body. She winced at the pain and breathed through the pain. Soon Bloom walked into the room and commented on Flora's appearance.

"That is a new look for you, Flora. Are you feeling okay?" Bloom asked grabbing her things for her shower.

"I am fine. Just not feeling 100%, must have had a bad cup of tea yesterday." Flora responded. Flora then walked out of the room and saw that the rest of the girls were up and getting ready for the day.

"Good morning, Flora." Tecna greeted Flora as she poured a cup of coffee. Musa and Stella sat on the small sofa in the middle of the room finishing up last minute readings for their classes. Layla was sitting at the small table in the room checking her emails and adjusting her calendar. Flora looked around and all she could see was the back room of the shop and Tecna took the form of the black haired man. Flora slowly started to back away. "Flora are you okay?" Tecna asked as she set down her cup. Flora blinked her eyes and saw everything as it was.

"Yeah, sorry just still a little tired from all the work last night." Flora replied as she walked over to Tecna to grab a cup of coffee. Flora took the coffee and chugged the contents of the mug while Tecna stared at her.

"Wow, thirsty? That was a fresh pot, it must have been hot." Tecna commented.

"Just in a rush. I have to stop by the greenhouse before class. I need to water the plants." Flora said as she grabbed her bag and ran out of the room.

Once she was out of the room she slid against the wall and sat in the hallway with her head in between her legs. She felt that she was going to pass out, that was until she saw a pink dahlia on the floor outside of the room door with a note attached to it with a black ribbon. Flora's eyes widened and her hands shook as she took the flower and opened the note.

 _My dearest Flora,_

 _Last night was all that I dreamed it would be. You were amazing and I know that we will have an amazing future together. Don't forget about what I said. Meet me in the greenhouse tonight at 1 am or else bad things will happen. Wear that green dress with the white dots on it, I like that one. I cannot wait for tonight._

 _Love,_

 _The Dahlia xoxo_

Flora slowly stood up and shoved the flower and note into her pink backpack before walking down the hallway. He knows where she lives. Her walking soon turned into running as she looked around her and saw people moving out of the way. Anyone could be him and she felt as though all eyes were on her. She kept running until she reached her classroom. She couldn't go to the greenhouse, not now. She was early to class and decided to take a seat in the back corner and kept her eyes glued to the door. She needed to be vigilant.

A few minutes later, the door opened and Flora felt her heart beating out of her chest but as soon as she saw who it was, she felt a release. Walking into the room was her best friend for a decade, Helia.

"Oh hey, Flora. I missed you in the greenhouse. I was left to water the flytraps without you and you know that they do not like me. Where were you? You are looking a little dark today. Why are you all the way back here? You're usually front and center." Helia asked as he sat in a seat next to Flora.

"I am not feeling too great today and I am tired after work." Flora lied. She could not believe that she lied to Helia. She had never lied to him since knowing him. She then placed her hood over her head, she did not want Helia looking at her anymore. She did not want anyone looking at her, she just wanted to be invisible.

"Are you sure?" Helia asked sincerely as he placed a comforting hand on Flora's back causing Flora to jump back.

"Yes, I am fine. Just leave it alone." Flora sternly replied as she sunk further into her seat. Helia then turned around to face the front and pulled his phone out. He snuck looks at Flora and saw that her face was covered and facing the wall. Helia knew that there was something wrong and could not see the woman that he loved in that state. She always greeted him, class, and life with a smile. She was glowing and radiant as she walked into the room and always wore beautiful dresses that reflected the beauty that was inside of her. She put him in a trance everytime that he saw her and he only fell more in love with her when she talked to him. Today, all of that light had been extinguished and everything about Flora was dark and dim. Something was wrong, and he was going to get to the bottom of it but for now, he knew it was best to leave Flora alone.

Students started to file into the class and soon the class began. Flora did not move from the position that she was in the entirety of the class. She did not take notes and did not look at the professor as he talked. She was always so attentive and shot her hand up for every question but today she was the complete opposite.

"Flora, can you tell me the percentage of plant life that grows in the ocean?" the professor called on her. Flora looked up from her hoodie and quietly answered.

"85%" Flora replied.

"I'm sorry, I couldn't hear that. Could you repeat that for me?" the professor asked.

"85%" Flora stated louder this time and the professor nodded at Flora indicating that her answer was correct. Flora flashed a small smile to the professor and went back to her previous position. Helia looked back over at Flora and saw a small tear escape from her eye and run down her delicate cheek. He would do anything to wipe away that tear.

Soon the professor dismissed the class and called Flora to stay behind. "Do you want me to wait for you?" Helia asked Flora as she stood up from her seat.

"No." Flora curtly replied.

"Are you sure? I would like to walk you back to your room. You don't look too good." Helia asked again.

"Helia, I am fine!" Flora sternly replied as she glared yet not making eye contact with Helia.

"Okay, well I will see you at lunch." Helia softly said as he exited the classroom.

Flora walked up to the professor and stood in front of him with her head bowed not wanting him to see her.

"Flora, I noticed you were not present in today's class, is everything alright?" the professor asked.

"Yeah, I am okay. Just really not feeling too well today. I think it's just the changing weather." Flora responded through a forced smile.

"Alright, I just wanted to make sure and I hope that you feel better. I will see you on Thursday." the professor said. Flora then smiled and walked out of the classroom.

When Flora left the classroom, she saw that the hallway was empty except for another pink dahlia and another note attached with a black ribbon. Flora's breathing once again became heavy and she picked up the flower and opened the note.

 _My dearest Flora,_

 _Now what are we going to do with that Helia? I think that he may become a problem and I think that you need to take care of him or else I will have to. I don't think that you will want me to do that. Also, I am so proud of you getting that question right in class today. Please try to perk up, you aren't nearly as beautiful when you are sad. Please, for me. I can't wait for our meeting in the greenhouse tonight. Meet me by the bench in the middle of the greenhouse._

 _Love,_

 _The Dahlia xoxo_

Flora started to hyperventilate thinking about what would happen to Helia. She knew that what she had to do would hurt him but she would rather be the one to do it. Not only would it hurt him but it would hurt her. She could not imagine her life without Helia in it. She loved him more than words could say but she had to protect him. Her attacker seemed to have his eyes on her no matter where she went. Like the flower and the note before, she shoved it in her pink backpack and ran straight to her room with tears flowing down her cheek. She could never escape. She could never be free.


	3. Moving Out

The day had passed by and Flora had not left her room. Her phone was buzzing with phone calls and texts from her friends but she could not talk to anyone. She missed every class for the rest of the day and she had never missed a class in her life. But she knew that the only way that The Dahlia could not hurt her friends is if she cut herself off from them. She had spent the whole day packing and emailed the housing office to get her another room, a single far away from her friends. She was approved after filling out the paperwork and emailing it back to the housing office. Flora did not expect such a fast response but she made the situation seem urgent citing that the pollen that she brought in from work was infecting the space and making her roommates cough. She could not tell anybody about what was happening to her.

It was around 3 o'clock in the afternoon when she had finished packing her things. Now all there was left to do was move them to her new room. She walked outside of the room to find no note, that was a good sign. She started to grab the boxes and move down the hall into her own room away from her friends. She made two more trips and she was finally moved in. The room was smaller than her old room and came with her own bathroom and kitchen area. Flora knew that when she wasn't in class that she could stay in her new room and be away from the people that she could potentially hurt. Flora left the small room to head back to her old room to leave a note when she found a note for herself outside the door.

 _My dearest Flora,_

 _I can't believe you moved rooms just for me. Now I can meet you whenever I want to. Don't worry, I will let you know ahead of time. I am not a monster, you know. Remember to take care of Helia. See you tonight._

 _Love,_

 _The Dahlia xoxo_

Flora ran back inside of her room and pulled out the other two notes and flowers and shoved everything that she got from her attacker into her desk drawer. She then ran back to her old room to leave the note notifying her friends that she needed to be alone and to never speak to her again. She left the room and went to her new room before anyone returned. Flora set her alarm for 10pm and drifted off to sleep, not caring that she would miss dinner or her friends.

Meanwhile, in the room, the girls were all chatting about where Flora had been all day.

"It's odd that Flora was not there at lunch. She is usually the first one there." Bloom stated.

"Yeah, but maybe she had some work to do. She was at the flower shop pretty late last night and when she came in I think she went straight to bed. For all we know, she could have been in the library studying." Musa replied, trying to rationalize the situation.

"But Flora would have texted back notifying us where she was. She didn't even answer Helia's texts and we all know that she is in love with him." Layla said.

"Hey, what time is it?" Bloom asked the girls.

"9:30pm. Why?" Layla answered looking down at her watch.

"Flora should have been back by now. I am going to check the room." Bloom said. Bloom got up for the chair in the common area and went inside the room that she and Flora used to share. When she got in she was shocked to find that Flora's side of the room was completely empty. She was about to leave the room when she saw an envelope on her bed addressed to her and the girls. Bloom walked out of the room with the letter in hand. "Flora is gone." Bloom informed the rest of the Winx.

"What do you mean she is gone?" Tecna asked.

"She did leave a note. I hope that this will tell us more." Bloom said as she opened the envelope. Each of the girls sat attentively and listened as Bloom read aloud the note.

 _Dear Winx,_

 _Today I have come to the realization that we are not compatible in any form. I think that I am just very different from the rest of the group and that I do not belong. Do not try to change my mind, it will not work. I think that it be best that we do not have any further contact. Do not try to talk to me in class, the halls, or in the cafeteria. I never want to see or talk to any of you again. The same goes for the Specialists and Helia. Tell him that I especially don't want to see him again. Please delete my number from your phones and forget that you have ever met me._

 _Flora_

"What the hell?" Musa asked as Bloom finished reading the letter.

"This sounds nothing like Flora but I think that we do need to respect her wishes." Bloom said.

"Absolutely not!" Layla shouted. "We have to get to the bottom of this. I'm calling the boys over. We need to talk about this now. Homework can wait."

"I agree with Layla. I will call Timmy." Tecna replied and ran to get her phone.

"I can't believe Flora would just leave like that. This is not her at all." Layla said.

"She seemed fine yesterday and this morning she seemed a bit off saying she didn't feel too well but I would never had expected this." Bloom stated.

"Alright, the boys are heading over as we speak. Of course Helia was the first one out of the door." Tecna informed the girls as she walked back into the room.

Down the hall in her own room, Flora woke up to the sound of her alarm. She knew that if she didn't get up now that she never would. She climbed out of bed and went to her closet to pull out the green dress that her attacker told her to wear for when she met him. As the time approached closer to 1am she could feel her stomach tighten. She had no idea what would happen in the greenhouse but she had to go. She needed to do this for her friends and for Helia. All she could think about Helia and how much it pained her to know that she would never be able to be with him again. He would never know how much that she loves him. She would never be able to kiss his lips. She would never know his touch. She would never be able to look into his eyes again. Instead of his blues eyes that filled her dreams with warmth and love, all she could see were green eyes that looked like dark emeralds that brought fear and pain to the core of her being. She was damaged and no one could save her.

Flora looked at the dress and knowing that he loved it made Flora hate it that much more. She changed out of her previous outfit and slipped into the dress. She brought herself to look in the mirror. She looked at the bruises that covered her arms and legs and quickly shut her eyes in disgust. She could not bear to see what he had done to her. She thought that it would get easier to digest but every time she saw herself, she was overcome by feelings of disgust and sadness. She grabbed her hair and brought it up into a high ponytail, a hairstyle that she could accomplish with her eyes closed. She did not bother to put on make-up, she knew that nothing could cover up the ugliness that she saw.

The time was now 11pm and she had two hours before she needed to be in the greenhouse so Flora decided to start on the school work for the next day because she had no idea how late she would be out. She pulled out her organic biology textbook and out fell the picture of her and Helia that she used as a bookmark. She picked the picture off the floor and examined the photo of a former self that she did not recognize. A Flora that was so full of life and genuinely happy. She knew that she could never be that girl again. She looked at how Helia's eyes wrinkled when he smiled and how perfect his teeth were. Flora started to cry looking at the photo wishing that she could see Helia now and him telling her that everything would be alright. She took another look at the photo and angrily tore it apart. She was mad that she would never have any of what the picture depicted again. She threw the picture scraps away.

Flora sat down at her desk to begin doing her work but slowly reached her hand in the garbage and pulled out a piece of the photo that had Helia's smiling face on it and placed it on her desk. If anyone was going to get her through this, it was Helia.

The boys arrived at the Winx's room and knocked on the door. Soon the boys were greeted with Stella's sombre face, a face that was seldom seen on her.

"Come in boys." Stella instructed. The Specialists started filing in one by one into the room and saw that the girls all shared Stella's similar expression.

"So where is the note?" Helia asked. He was the first to walk into the room and the first to speak. Helia knew that something was wrong with Flora but he was becoming more worried as the time went on. Bloom handed Helia the note that Flora had left for the girls and the Specialists crowded around in order to read it.

"This does not sound like Flora at all." Sky noted after reading the letter. Sky went over to stand behind Bloom and put his hands on Bloom's shoulders.

"I agree. But I think that for now the best thing is to let have Flora have her space and see if we can talk to her tomorrow. I think that we will all be in much better spirits and we can approach the situation more logically." Timmy suggested as he sat down in the chair next to Tecna.

"I hate to admit it. I actually agree with the nerd here." Rived said as he leaned against the wall.

"Uh, thanks?" Timmy replied.

"If you want, you can sleep over here. I know that the boy's dorm is a long distance away and it is getting late. Plus we could use the company tonight. Maybe Flora will come back and I feel that it is best that we are all here in case she does." Bloom said.

"Thanks, Bloom. We would like that a lot." Brandon said. The boys then went into the room with their respective girlfriends and decided to get some sleep, Helia went to go sleep in Flora's old bed.

As Helia climbed into bed he heard Sky from Bloom's bed saying, "Don't worry, man. She will come around. Flora cares way too much about you and the girls to just drop you all out of the blue."

"Thanks, Sky, Goodnight." Helia replied.

"Goodnight, Helia." With that, the girls and the Specialists fell asleep for the night.


	4. The Greenhouse

**Trigger Warning again for sexual violence and pretty explicit sex scenes**

The time was 30 minutes past midnight and Flora had forced herself to stand up from the desk that she was working at to meet the man that had assaulted her the night previous in the flower shop. Her legs felt weak and her arms felt like they each weighed 50 pounds. Flora took a deep breath and walked towards the door. She opened the door to the hallway and found no flower and no letter. She sighed in relief but what was about to happen made her tense up again in suspense and fear.

Flora started down the dark and empty hallway towards the greenhouse that was located outside in the gardens. The gardens and the greenhouse were once places that Flora enjoyed going to but as she made her way there, she only felt darkness and a suffocating feeling came over her. Her feet were begging her not to move any further and her heart was beating out of her chest. However, Flora knew that she had to be there or she would lose her friends, her family, and her life. She reached the door to the greenhouse and slowly turned the handle. The door creaked open and Flora walked inside the damp greenhouse and made her way to the bench in the center where she found her attacker from the night before sitting with a pink dahlia in one hand and a grin plastered on his face. Flora wanted to run away but her body could not move. Instead she stared at the man in front of her and waited for him to do something, anything.

As soon as the man saw Flora, he stood up and walked towards her. Flora stood still and dared not to make eye contact with him. The man approached Flora and placed the dahlia gently into her hair and cupped her cheek. Flora did everything in her power to not swat his hand away from her face. The man then brought his lips to Flora's and kissed her lightly.

"Flora my dear you look absolutely lovely, even with my love marks on you," the man said. Flora could not say anything in response, in this time, words had failed her.

"Now, I want to have a very special night. Can we do that?" the man asked bringing Flora's face up to his so now Flora was staring into his deep green eyes. Flora nodded as tears threatened to escape her eyes. The man looked down at Flora and his gentle expression turned into one of control and power.

He grabbed Flora by the waist and crashed his lips down onto hers. "Kiss me back." he commanded through the kiss. Flora followed his orders and brought her hand up to his black hair and gave into the kiss, opening her mouth to give entrance for his tongue. Tears once again fell from Flora's eyes as she kissed the man who threatened all she loved. He made his way from her lips down her neck and started to kiss there, Flora had no choice but to let him. He then made his way back up to her lips and then brought his right hand from Flora's waist up to her throat and began squeezing.

Flora gasped and then felt him squeezing tighter and tighter. She started to whimper. He then pulled away and threw Flora to the ground. Flora grunted and sobbed as she landed and she saw his feet and felt his body standing over her. He then kneeled down and pulled the straps of Flora's dress to the side and pulled down her dress, exposing her breasts. Flora tried to use her hands to cover herself up, but the man only pulled them away.

He reached for her right breast and placed it into his mouth as he used the other hand to grab the same knife from before and slowly run it across the left breast. Flora's crying became harder as she felt the way that his tongue crawled across her breast. She tried to think of the picture of the smiling Helia but that did not work. The man then made his way over to the left breast and started to suck on it and switched the attention of the knife to Flora's throat. Flora once again became paralyzed with fear.

After he had his fill of Flora's breasts, he cut away the rest of her dress to reveal Flora only in her underwear. "Next time we meet, don't wear any of those." he instructed as he tore away the fabric leaving an exposed Flora. Flora nodded and the man smiled slyly at her compliance. He then flipped Flora around until she was on all fours. Flora then heard the sound she detested the most, the unbuckling of his pants. She knew what was coming next and closed her eyes. The man grabbed Flora by the hair with one hand and used the other to position himself. Flora felt the skin of his penis at the entrance to her vagina and she held her breath in anticipation. Soon she felt the ripping sensation overcome her body. She winced in pain and she heard him moan out.

He began to slowly move himself in and out of her and Flora felt the pain subside. The man started to moan louder and Flora even heard him call out her name in moments of ecstasy. Flora felt him start to go faster and harder into her and something was starting to build inside of her. It was a feeling of fullness in her most intimate of places. She had no idea what was happening until the worst thing happened, she moaned. Flora could not believe it and as much as her brain was telling her to shut up, she could not stop moaning. The man who was inside of her turned her over so now she was face to face with the monster attacking her. Flora refused to open her eyes but the moans kept coming. The man kept thrusting harder and harder, moving faster and faster. He brought his head down to Flora's and began kissing her soft lips and Flora kissed back. Her body had betrayed her and she was giving in to the pleasure that filled her. The man pulled away and brought the knife to Flora's face and started pumping harder and faster until Flora started to yell.

"Faster." Flora panted and the man did as he was told. Flora moaned louder and the man started to yell out dropping the knife and grabbing Flora's hips. Flora then yelled out in climax and the man took one last thrust before finishing inside of Flora. They both panted and the man collapsed on top of Flora, both sweating. As soon as Flora came, her body caught back up to her mind and she wanted to throw up. She felt the sweat and she felt completely disgusting for actually enjoying him violating her body. Was that even possible? Flora started to cry knowing that she let herself get carried away. She then panicked when she felt something hot coming out of her.

Flora pushed the man off of her and stood up and tried to push every drop of semen that she could out of herself. She could not become pregnant. Not with his baby. She started to cry more and the man stood up to put his pants back on and walked over to the crying and panicking Flora.

"Don't cry, darling." he said as he kissed her cheek, "you will get more tomorrow. I know how much you loved it." He then picked up the pink dahlia he had given her before off the ground and placed it once again in her long caramel colored hair before leaving a naked Flora inside of the greenhouse.

 **Please let me know if I should continue the story or just give it up. Reviews are always great and would be appreciated.**


	5. Begging

Days had turned into weeks and Flora had gone about her business without letting anyone into the world that she inhabited filled with darkness. She had ignored the texts and calls from her friends and refused to answer the door when anyone would knock. Every night, she would be forced to go into the greenhouse and be subjected to attacks and every time. Flora felt as though a piece of her died. She would go back to the mirror in her room and look at the bruises that were on her body and feel disgusted. Flora still knew nothing of the man other from the notes that he continued to leave outside of her door. Her drawers were filled with dying pink dahlias and notes that would remind her of the many attacks that she had endured.

Flora continued with her classes and kept herself covered. She could sense the way that Helia worried about her but she could never be associated with him again or else face the consequences. Flora had been asked about what was happening by professors and she always brushed it off as having a cold that she could not seem to get over.

Flora laid in her bed and stared at the ceiling until she heard a knock on her door. She looked at the door for a split second and then resumed her attention to the ceiling and her thoughts. The knocking returned and heard a voice that pained her to hear. "Flora, please talk to me. I haven't talked to you in over a month. Please let me in." Helia could be heard shouting outside of the door. This had not been the first time that Helia had come to check on her. He had come everyday and every time, Flora had ignored his pleas. Flora turned over to see the clock and saw that it was 10pm and that it was almost time for her nightly meetings with the man who made her life a living hell.

Helia kept knocking, "Flora, I am not leaving until you talk to me." Flora knew that she could not talk to Helia without the man knowing but she knew that if he kept knocking that the man would handle Helia himself. She decided to crawl out of bed wearing a black hoodie and baggy grey sweatpants. She slowly walked over to the door and opened the door.

"Please leave, Helia." Flora softly commanded as she held the door open a crack. She then started to close the door until Helia caught the door and barged his way through. "Helia, I said to leave! You need to go!" Flora shouted at him. Helia did not budge but then something caught his eyes.

"Flora, what happened to your neck?" Helia asked indicating to the bruises on her neck.

"It's nothing." Flora replied while adjusting her hoodie in order to cover up the bruises.

"That is not nothing, Flora!" Helia marched over to Flora and moved her hand from the hoodie to expose the bruises and scars that were on Flora's neck. He then pulled up her sleeves and saw the bruises on her arm. "Flora..." Helia gasped as Flora slowly started to cry. "Flora, please tell me what is going on." Helia begged calmly. It pained him to see his best friend and the person that he loved to be in pain.

"Helia, please go." Flora repeated her command again through tears.

"Flora, I am not leaving you. You are hurt and it doesn't look like you have eaten or slept in days. Flora, it hurts me seeing you like this. I am only mad that I did not see it earlier. Please, tell me what is happening." Helia stated calmly as he looked into Flora's jade eyes.

"Helia...I can't tell you." Flora looked down and started to cry harder. Helia then grabbed Flora and pulled her into a hug. "Helia, let go of me." Flora tried to push Helia off of her but Helia refused to let her go. Flora struggled to leave Helia's grasp.

Helia took his hand and rubbed it through Flora's hair trying to soothe her. Flora cried on his shoulder and it tore him inside to see her suffer. Helia looked up and saw the pile of torn clothes in a pile next to Flora's bed. "What happened to all of those clothes?" Helia asked as he walked over and picked up a pink sundress that had been torn down the middle.

"I...I don't like those clothes so I decided to destroy them." Flora replied.

"Flora, you know you can't lie to me." Helia said as he set the torn dress back into the pile. "Flora you need to tell me what is wrong."

"No."

"Flora..." Helia urged.

"No!" Flora shouted back.

"FLORA ROSE LINPHEA YOU NEED TO TELL ME WHAT IS HAPPENING RIGHT NOW!" Helia shouted so loudly that Flora had jumped back and bumped into the wall.

"Why!? Why do you need to know?! Why can't you just leave me alone?!" Flora shouted back.

Without thinking, Helia ran to Flora and crashed his lips onto hers. Flora's body was pressed against the wall and the kiss became more passionate. Flora gave into the kiss, she had been waiting for it for as long as she could remember. She loved Helia more than anything in the world but yet she still pushed him off of her. She started to softly cry again and started to shout, "I'm sorry!" Flora kept repeating and shouted to the ceiling and in various directions. Helia stood back confused and hurt. Did she not return his feelings? What was she sorry for? Flora ran to the door and started to shout down the hallways. Helia ran after her and dragged her back into the room with Flora kicking and screaming. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"

Once inside of the room, Helia took Flora into the bathroom and turned on the shower with both of them fully clothed and turned on the water. Flora continued to scream until she tired from the energy exerted and the warm water running down her back. She slowly began to sit down in the tub with Helia still holding her from behind and once again trying to calm her down. Flora kept crying and crying. Helia ran his fingers through her wet hair and calmly shushed her in a reassuring way, letting her know he was here for her. Flora turned around to face Helia and cupped his face and kissed him softly, not caring what would happen to her. She knew that she was going to die for even letting Helia inside that she gave in to her emotions and kissed him. The kiss once again became more heated as the water fell on them both.

Flora took off Helia's shirt to expose his muscular chest, arms, and torso. Flora felt as the water trickled down the crevices and curves of his muscles. His body was a maze that she wanted to get lost in. She ran her hands through his hair as Helia started to kiss her with more fervor and passion. Helia grabbed the bottom of Flora's hoodie and pulled it up, and then Helia pulled away. Helia examined Flora's body and felt as though he had been kicked in the stomach. He saw the cuts and scars on her back. The bruising on her hips, torso, neck, and arms. Helia's heart filled with sadness. Flora hung her head down in shame. She did not want Helia to see her like this, she wanted the first time that they had chose to be intimate be a special time that he would see her as beautiful and loved. Now, Flora felt disgusting and worthless.

Flora tried to stand up to exit the tub but Helia grabbed her by the arm and pulled her back down and started to kiss each of Flora's bruises and scars. He looked back up to her and said, "Flora, you are the most beautiful woman that I have ever seen. I love you. I always have and I always will."

"I know you don't mean that, Helia. Look at me, I am hideous." Flora responded as she looked away from Helia.

"I do mean that. I love you and you are everything to me." Helia said as he took Flora into his arms. Helia grabbed Flora by the hands and stood her up in the tub and pulled her out. He then turned off the water and grabbed towels for both he and Flora. Flora stood shivering in the cold and was thankful to be greeted by the warmth of the towel and Helia's body. They walked over to Flora's bed and sat down, not caring if they got the blankets wet.

Helia then turned to Flora and cupped her cheeks in his hands before softly kissing her lips. Pulling away he begged once again, "Flora, what is happening?" Helia looked into her green eyes and Flora felt at ease. She drowned in the blues of his eyes yet she still felt warm and comforted. Flora was about to tell about everything that happened until she heard a knock on the door and voice that shook her to her core.

He was here.

 **I know that everything might seem like it is going fast but I think that I just want this to be a short story and I don't want to get too into a lot of stuff that could make this story drag on for a long time. As always, reviews are appreciated.**


	6. Watching

"Flora, darling answer the door." the man said from beyond the door.

"Helia, you need to hide." Flora begged Helia as she quickly stood up from the bed. Helia stared at Flora and saw the worry in her face.

"No, who is that?" Helia asked as he followed Flora to the door.

"Helia, you need to hide. Now." Flora sternly instructed as she reached the door. Helia ran to Flora as she opened the door to reveal the man with a knife in his hand. The man walked past Helia placed the knife up to his neck.

"Flora?" Helia asked in disbelief as he looked straight at Flora.

"Flora, you have not been a good girl and now he will suffer." the man said and Flora started to cry.

"I am sorry! I didn't want him to come! Please, spare him! Kill me! I can't stand this anymore!" Flora shouted.

"Flora, no!" Helia begged. "I won't let him hurt you more than he already has."

"I never said I was going to kill him, physically that is." the man said as he pushed Helia away from him. "You said you wanted to know what happened to Flora. Well, let me show you. If you try to stop me, she dies." the man instructed.

The man walked over to Flora and grabbed her by the neck and brought her lips to his. Flora started to run over to the man angrily until he was stopped by the man putting the knife up to Flora's throat. Helia retreated and the man continued to kiss Flora while she continued to cry. Flora already was shirtless so the man did away with her bra and threw it over to the side. He started to grab Flora's breasts and massage them roughly, making Helia sick to his stomach being forced to watch. The man moved his hands down to Flora's waist and brought her closer to him. Flora looked at Helia with tears in her eyes, ashamed that he had to see her like this. Helia saw the fear and the love in her eyes, the love for him that pleaded for him to help her.

The man opened his eyes and saw Flora looking at Helia and struck her across the face that made her collapse on the bed. Flora yelped and grabbed her face crying. "I'm sorry!" Flora cried.

The man became angrier and tore away Flora's sweatpants, "What did I tell you?!" he yelled as he saw her wearing underwear. He then struck her and ripped her underwear. Flora started to cry harder and Helia couldn't bear the sight. He turned away but the man called him to look or Flora would not make it. Helia turned around to see the man undoing his belt buckle and turning Flora around so that she was on her hands and knees, facing Flora. Flora silently looked at Helia with tears streaming down her cheeks. Helia wanted to go over to Flora and kiss away her tears, but he knew what would happen if he approached her.

Helia's train of thought of saving Flora was broken when she broke eye contact and winced in pain as the man entered her. The tears started to flow down Flora's cheeks once again. "I really don't know why you are crying, Flora. I thought that you liked it?" the man moaned as he kept thrusting violently into Flora. "You know, Helia. She always moans and tells me just how she likes it. She begs me to go faster and even lets me finish in her. I am surprised that she is not pregnant. I would love to see what our kids looked like, wouldn't you, Helia? I wonder if they would look like her?" the man teased Helia. Helia stared at the man, growing angrier with every word that he said. Helia was also angry at himself for letting this happen to Flora. He could not stand that this was the reason that she shut herself off from everyone and that a man was violating her. He hated seeing her in pain and in the arms of another man. He wanted to be the first to kiss her pink lips and be the first to make love to her. He wanted her first time to be special, even if it was not with him. Nobody deserved to go through this, Helia died inside seeing Flora being abused by this man. All Helia could do was look into her eyes and see the pain that was there. Helia looked at the man having his way with Flora and he grew angrier and angrier.

"Helia, I think I am going to finish now. Where should I do it?" the man asked as he looked at Helia before shutting his eyes. Helia glared at him and then looked at Flora with pain in his eyes. Helia then saw something out of the corner of his eyes. The man had dropped the knife next to the bed. Helia saw the man had his eyes closed in ecstasy and Helia knew that it was his chance. Helia swiftly moved over to the knife and before the man could finish, stabbed him the side. The man yelled and fell away from Flora and Flora scrambled off the bed. Helia pulled the knife out of the man and began to hit him over and over. Helia let out all of his anger on the man.

"Helia! Stop!" Flora shouted seeing that the man was unconscious. Helia looked down and saw the blood pouring out of the man's nose and looked at the crying Flora. Helia went to Flora who was standing cold and naked. Helia grabbed the blanket from Flora's bed and wrapped her up a softly kissed her.

"It's okay, Flora. It is over." Helia whispered to Flora.

"Thank you." Flora said back and hugged Helia, "I love you."

 **Thanks for dealing with all of this graphic stuff. This should be the last of it except there may be some HeliaxFlora stuff. The rest of the story will be Flora dealing with the trauma of her attack and trying to move on from it with the help of Helia and her friends. Sat tuned! Reviews are nice :)**


	7. Apologies

Helia had called the police and the hospital to take the man away. Flora had put on some clothes and was currently being treated by a paramedic while at the same time being asked questions by the police. Upon hearing about what was going on, The Winx and the Specialists ran into the room.

"What happened? We saw the police and paramedics run in here so we wanted to see if everything was okay." Bloom asked Helia.

"How could I have let this happen?" Helia asked himself as he sat with his head in his hands.

"What happened?" Bloom asked again.

"We should have been more persistent. I knew that Flora wasn't okay. I let this happen to her." Helia replied.

"What happened to her?!" Riven yelled grabbing Helia by the arms.

"That happened to her!" Helia exclaimed pointing to the unconscious man handcuffed to a stretcher. "He has been abusing Flora for weeks now! He has been making her life hell and I did nothing to stop it! I didn't even know! How could I have been so blind?!"

"Oh my God..." Bloom said in disbelief. The Winx and the Specialists looked at the bruised and beaten Flora as she talked to the police officer, pain expressed all over her face. Flora sat with a blank stare as she gripped the shock blanket tightly. "Will she be okay?"

"I don't know. The paramedics should tell us soon." Helia responded.

Soon the police came over to Helia and shook his hand. "Thank you for what you did. I am glad that you were here to help. Good to know that there is one scumbag off the streets. You did a great job." The police officer said.

"No, I didn't. I should have known earlier. Nothing I did was heroic, I was only lucky. Or unlucky. I let him do those things to her while I just watched helplessly from the side. Whatever I did, it wasn't worth thanking." Helia said as he held his head down. The police officer only gave Helia a pat on the shoulder and a small grin before getting into the ambulance with the man who had violated Flora. Flora was done being checked out by the paramedic and had given all the samples that were needed to lock the man up away for good. Helia walked over to Flora and sat next to her.

"Are you alright?" Helia asked Flora as he wrapped his arm around her. Flora leaned into Helia.

"I think so. I am not pregnant so that is a relief and everything should heal in a few weeks." Flora sighed.

"I am glad to hear that but are you sure you will be okay emotionally? I will always be here for you and I know that the girls and guys will be as well. We all love you, Flora." Helia said as he rubbed Flora's arm. Helia then bent down and kissed the top of Flora's head.

The Winx and the Specialists walked over to Flora to see how she was doing. "Hey Flora." Layla greeted softly. Flora simply smiled in response.

"Flora, we are so sorry. We should have tried harder to help. I would have never stopped knocking or calling if I had known that this was happening to you." Bloom said as she bent down to hug Flora.

"We are so sorry you had to go through that." Brandon sighed as he looked at Flora while holding Stella close to him. Each of the guys followed suit and brought their girlfriends into protective embraces.

"Please, don't feel sorry. I don't want anyone to feel bad because of something that was out of all of our control. I am only mad at myself. I should have been stronger and fought back. It is all my fault." Flora replied as she held her head down.

"Flora, none of this is your fault! You are one of the strongest people here for enduring that kind of pain and torture. You are simply amazing, Flora." Musa asserted. Flora looked up and smiled at her friends.

"You still have a bed if you want it. We would love to have you as a roommate again." Stella chimed.

"Thank you, but I think that I need to be alone for a while. I need to figure things out. I hope that you all will let me stop by the room on occasions." Flora replied.

"Of course! Come whenever you want! There will always be a place for you." Stella exclaimed.

"Same with us. You always have a home in our dorm as well." Sky said. Flora smiled and then yawned.

"It is almost midnight, I think that it is time that we get to bed. We should let Flora sleep." Helia said. He took his arm off of Flora and headed towards the door with the rest of the Winx and Specialists.

"Wait, Helia. Will you stay with me? Please?" Flora asked softly.

"Whatever you want, Flora. I will always be here for you." Helia said. He then bent down and kissed Flora softly on the lips.

"Wait! When did this happen?" Stella squealed. She clasped her hands and grinned from ear to ear.

"Tonight but I don't think that is very important giving everything that happened tonight." Helia responded.

"I know but I am happy to know that something good came out of this night." Stella exclaimed.

"Stella, get out. Goodnight everyone." Helia instructed annoyed at the blonde's inappropriate behavior. Helia wished that he could have professed his love in different circumstances and had made the occasion more romantic but this is the way that things were and unfortunately, Helia found no joy in the situation that had presented itself.

Stella pouted as she, the Winx and the Specialists exited the room. Helia looked down at Flora and saw her crying once again. "Flora, what is wrong." Helia asked.

"I don't think I am going to be alright." Flora responded.

"We will get through this together and I will be here every step of the way." Helia reassured her as he held her close.

"Helia, I meant what I said earlier. I love you. I have loved you since we were young. I remember when you moved here and came to my school. I love the way that you care for others and are passionate about everything that you do. I don't want what happened to me ruin any future that we could have together. I am spoiled and I don't see how anyone would want me." Flora said.

"Flora, nothing you do will ever make me stop loving you. You are the greatest thing that happened to me. You were my first friend and I have been waiting years for you to say that you love me. I love you so much Flora and I want to be with you through it all. I know that the road may not be the smoothest but I know that travelling it with you will make it worth the destination. And you are not spoiled! You are loved and you will always be loved no matter what." Helia replied and bent down to give Flora another kiss. Flora walked over to the bed and got under the covers. Helia followed and placed his arms around her waist and pulled her close to him.

"Helia, please never let me go." Flora asked as she softly closed her eyes and relaxed into Helia's arms.

"Never." Helia replied as he and Flora both drifted off to sleep.


	8. Letters

Flora woke up the next morning to find herself in two strong arms and the smell of mint in the air. Flora opened her eyes and flinched seeing Helia sleeping next to her. She had forgotten that she asked him to sleep with her after he had saved her from the man who had made her life miserable for months. Upon Flora's flinch back away from Helia, Helia woke up and looked at Flora with concern.

"Are you alright?" Helia asked as he felt the way that Flora was lightly shaking in his arms.

"I'm fine." Flora responded as she lifted from out of Helia's grasp and sat up on the bed.

"Are you sure? You don't seem fine." Helia asked again as he sat up next to Flora. He put his arm around her and Flora once again flinched away and stood up from the bed, leaving Helia confused.

"I just need time, Helia." Flora said as she walked over to her closet and pulled out some clothes. She pulled out a black turtleneck and grey sweatpants.

Helia stood up and walked to where she was standing and took the clothes from her and put them back in the closet. "The first step to healing is letting him and yourself know that he does not have any more power over you. Now I think that this outfit will do well." Helia smiled as he looked down at Flora and pulled out a white turtleneck (since it was winter) and a red skirt.

"Helia, I can't." Flora sighed.

"Yes you can, Flora. Just the clothes and then later we will move on to other things, together. I am here to help you and I will until you are ready." Helia said softly as he placed his hand on Flora's cheek and gave her a soft kiss on the cheek. Flora took a deep breath and took the clothes from Helia and walked into the bathroom to change.

Helia walked over to Flora's desk where she used to keep her makeup and Helia searched the drawers. He opened the top two drawers and found that there was nothing in them, so he naturally checked the third and final drawer. When Helia opened the drawer he found a pile of flowers both alive and dead, and cards that were addressed to Flora. Helia was curious and took one of the cards on the top, opened it, and read it. What he read made his stomach crawl, they were letters addressed to Flora from her attacker.

Flora walked out of the bathroom to find Helia reading the notes that she had placed in her desk drawers. Helia looked up at Flora in shock and whispered, "Flora?" Helia was in shock and tears threatened to flow from his eyes. He saw what happened to her and the abuse that she had endured but he never thought that the abuse went this far and became as psychological.

"Helia, what were you doing going through my stuff?" Flora asked quietly, standing in place.

"Flora, I had no idea." Helia said.

"Helia, please put those back." Flora timidly instructed, tears falling from her green eyes. Helia put the letters on her desk and ran up to Flora and placed his hands on her cheeks and clashed his lips onto hers. Flora deepened the kiss as she placed her hands on his arms. Helia felt Flora's tears fall onto his lips and brushed his thumb under her eyes to wipe away the tears. Flora pulled back and looked into Helia's sapphire eyes.

"Helia, I am so scared." Flora whispered.

"Flora, I will always be by your side, you have nothing to be afraid of. Nothing and no one will ever hurt you again. I love you." Helia said as he held her trembling hands in his. Helia brought up Flora's hands to his lips and placed a soft kiss on top of them. Helia then smiled at Flora as he helped to dry her eyes.

"Thank you, Helia. I am glad that you are going to be with me through all of this. I love you too." Flora said as she pulled him into a warm embrace and rested her head on his chest. Helia wrapped his arms around Flora and Flora could feel Helia's heartbeat and it comforted her.

"Helia."

"Yes, Flora?" Helia asked placing his chin on top of Flora's head.

"What were you doing in my desk drawers?"

"I was looking for your makeup." Helia replied as he looked down at Flora.

"Why?"

"I just thought that I would try to give you the option of wearing it. Of course you look beautiful without it but I always did like that one pink lipstick you wore. It looked like a fresh pink rose." Helia said.

"You noticed that?"

"You are like a beautiful piece of art and I would spend hours looking at you if I could." Helia said.

Flora walked away from Helia and looked down.

"I don't feel beautiful anymore. I don't know how you could still look at me." Flora sighed.

Helia walked up to Flora and responded, "You will always be beautiful to me and you are more beautiful to me than you have ever been before. You are strong and I will make sure that you see how beautiful you are."

Flora then walked to her bedside table and opened the drawer to reveal her makeup and pulled out the rose lipstick that Helia mentioned before and put the color on her lips. She gave Helia a smiled and placed a kiss on his cheek, leaving a slight lipstick stain.

Helia chuckled and brought his lips down to Flora's and brought her in for another kiss.

 **Sorry that this chapter is a little short. Review if you want!**


	9. Stares

Flora and Helia walked to their first class of the day together receiving stares along the way.

"Just ignore them, Flora." Helia whispered as her placed his arm around Flora's shoulders.

"Easy for you to say. I have no problem with them staring at us because we are a couple but I just don't know if they are staring at us because of what happened to me. I know that if people always remember me as the girl who was raped, then I will never truly move on. I just want to forget about what happened to me." Flora sighed as she turned towards Helia.

"You will move on past this, I promise. I don't think that the other students know what happened last night but if they do, just pretend that they don't. Their opinions don't matter." Helia smiled down to Flora before bringing her in for a tight embrace.

Flora flinched feeling Helia's arms around her and she quickly retracted much to Helia's dismay.

"I'm sorry, Helia. I..." Flora stammered as she caught her breath.

"No, I understand completely. I'm sorry. Let's just go to class." Helia lightly replied.

Flora and Helia walked the rest of the way across campus until they reached the science building where they shared their first class of the day, environmental ethics. Despite Helia being an art major, he had taken the class so that he would have the chance to become closer to Flora. Flora had always dreamed of working with nature and decided that she wanted to be an environmental scientist. However, ever since the attack, she found that her love of plants had slowly diminished.

Flora walked to the back of the class and sat in the corner, not wanting to draw attention to herself and hide herself from the stares of the other students.

"Flora, you should sit at the front of the class. You always sit at the front of the class." Helia smiled as he bent down to talk to Flora.

"Helia, I really don't want to. I just want to sit here." Flora curtly replied looking down and playing with the hem of her skirt.

Helia sighed and took the seat next Flora's and placed his bag on the floor. He looked at Flora through somber eyes and his heart broke seeing Flora. He knew that she was trying but he couldn't help but feel guilty at the fact that he could not protect her.

The class began and Flora sat quietly in the corner answering when she was called on. Helia could not take his eyes off of Flora, wanting to make sure that she was okay. Class ended and Flora stood up from her seat and quickly left the room. Helia was about to chase after her until he was stopped by the professor.

"Helia, can I talk to you for a minute." Helia looked at the direction of the door and sighed.

"Sure." Helia replied quietly.

"I know that you are close with Flora and I cannot help but to think that there is something going on between you two. Art majors usually don't take 300 level environment studies classes. However, I would prefer it if you two left the drama outside of the classroom. Flora is my best student but I have noticed that she has been completely withdrawn from her work for the past few months. She is still doing well but the spark is gone."

"With all due respect, shouldn't you be talking to her about it?" Helia snapped.

"I have but she does not want to listen to me. I think that maybe she would listen to you." the professor responded calmly.

"Honestly, you have no idea what you are talking about and I think that you should really just stick to teaching. Do you have any idea what Flora went through?" Helia shouted.

"Helia, this is unlike you. I think that you need to calm down. I may not know what happened to Flora but I do know that she needs help and I thought that you would be the best person to help."

"I am sorry," Helia sighed, "I will try to talk to her."

"Thank you. You may go now."

"I'll see you on Thursday, Professor Garcia." Helia waved and walked out of the classroom to find Flora waiting outside with tears in her eyes.

"Flora?"

"What did you tell him? Does he know?" Flora asked in a low mumble.

"Of course not, I would never tell anyone. It is not for me to tell. He was just wondering why you have been so down in the dumps. He thinks that there is a problem between you and me." Helia replied softly.

Flora looked up at Helia and gave him a slight smile that brightened Helia's mood.

"Would you like to go to the greenhouse and work with the plants? I know that usually makes you feel better." Helia smiled but Flora's face grew pale and full of horror.

"No. I can't go there anymore." Flora said as she backed away from Helia.

"Come on, Flora. You love the greenhouse." Helia replied.

"NO! I never want to go back there again. I can't. I won't." Flora exclaimed causing Professor Garcia to come out of the classroom.

"Is everything alright?" Professor Garcia asked.

"Everything is fine. I am going back to my room." Flora turned around and started heading back to her room, leaving Helia and Dr. Garcia behind.

 **Hey, sorry I have been super busy but I wanted to give you all a quick update. I have an idea of what I want to do for the rest of the story but I am not sure if you would like it. If you want to know and have some input, feel free to message me or leave a review and I will get back to you. Things are getting a little tense and Flora is going to want to break that tension somehow, especially when she is going to have to face her abuser in court. DRAMA!**


	10. New Ally

"Flora, please open the door. I am sorry for whatever it is I said. I am really trying and I really hope that you know that I am only trying to do what is best for you." Helia said through the closed door of Flora's room.

Flora was lying on her bed with a tear stained pillow and a shattered heart. She knew that she could not be mad at Helia but he just was not getting it. She needed to make it through on her own terms and in her own time. She needed him to let her make the decisions on what she wanted to do and where she wanted to go. The past few months had changed her and she needed him to understand that.

"Flora, please. I am sorry."

Flora sat up and walked to the door, knowing that he was not going to leave until she answered. Flora opened the door to reveal a desperate looking Helia.

"Please tell me what is going on. I am just trying to help." Helia sighed as he stood in the doorway looking at Flora's red eyes and tear stained cheeks.

"Helia, I am not mad at you but I really need to get over this on my own time and I need you to stop making decisions for me. I really appreciate you being here for me but I don't need you telling me what I should do and when I should do it." Flora explained.

"I am trying to push you but I understand. I know that this will take time. You have to understand that I only have your best interests at heart."

"I know that you do but this is my problem." Flora stated.

"Alright, I will keep my mouth shut for now on. I just don't know what you want from me."

"Helia, this is day one. You saw what he did to me! I didn't want to go to the greenhouse because he raped me every night there! I cannot go back in there! I will only see him and how defenseless and helpless that I was! You can't begin to understand what I am going through!" Flora exclaimed.

"Flora, I didn't know. I am trying to understand and I know that I never will but please, you need to let me know. Flora, I love you and I am here for you." Helia said walking towards Flora but Flora retreated further into her room.

"I don't want to be touched right now." Flora quietly said as she held her arms up to her chest. "Can you please just go."

Helia looked at Flora with sadness and confusion before he changed to his expression to one of indifference and complacency.

"Let me know when you want to talk. I won't talk to you until you do." Helia curtly said.

"Helia..."

"No, I get it. I'll see you around."

Helia walked away to leave a heartbroken Flora. Flora sighed knowing that she may have been a little harsh to Helia and that this was not the reaction that she wanted. To be honest she had no idea what she wanted. She wanted to be alone but she also wanted to be in his arms again and feel the cool sensation of his lips on hers.

Flora shut her door and walked back to her bed where she curled up and slowly fell asleep knowing that she would miss her other class for the day.

The next morning, Flora was awoken to the sound of a vigorous knocking on her door. She groaned and crawled out of bed, still wearing the clothes that she wore the day before. Flora slowly walked over to the door where the knocking continued. Flora opened the door to reveal a man in a suit staring in her doorway.

"Hello, is this the room of a Ms. Flora Linphea?" the man asked.

"Yes, may I help you?" Flora asked wearily of the strange man in front of her.

"The question is more if I can help you." the man smiled politely which calmed Flora's nerves, "I am Attorney Victor Collins and I heard about your case and was wondering if I would be able to represent you in court?"

"What?" Flora asked dumbfounded.

"I know that you are still trying to recover from what happened to you and I understand if this is the last thing that you want to think about but I want to make sure that justice is served and I am willing to give you pro-bono legal counsel." Victor explained.

"You seem really young to be a lawyer." Flora said suspiciously.

"Yeah, I get that a lot. I skipped three grades in elementary school. It's not as fun as it sounds. Being fifteen and the shortest kid in my graduating class of high school led to a few years of bullying. But I guess being a lawyer at twenty-five has it's perks too. I am BAR certified and am working as an associate at Martin & Johnson hopefully making full partner in a few years." Victor chuckled looking back at his life and education.

"Well, thank you. I think that I would like to do more research on lawyers before I choose one but I will definitely keep you in consideration." Flora smiled. She looked at the tall tanned man with striking grey eyes and black hair and thought that she could trust him but after everything that happened to her, she had a hard time trusting everyone.

"I wish you luck and if you need anything at all, please call me." Victor said while handing Flora his business card. "I want to handle this case on your own time but you must decide what you want to do fast or they will release Mr. Charles from prison and we will have to hunt him down again."

"When do I need to let you know?" Flora asked as her eyes widened at the thought of her attacker being released.

"I need to know by Thursday."

"That is only in two days." Flora replied as she thumbed the business card.

"I know, but I want you to do what is best for you. We will not pressure you into doing anything but you must act fast on this."

"I want to press charges." Flora said definitively.

"That's great but you will need to tell that to the police. I am here just for legal reasons." Victor chuckled again.

"Oh. Would you come down to the station with me?" Flora asked. She did not want to be alone when she went to the station and the thought of seeing her attacker was going to be an ordeal in itself.

"I can only accompany you as your legal representative. Wouldn't you want a friend to go down there with you?"

"I don't think that they will understand. I have only known you for five minutes and you seem to be more willing to see eye to eye with me than any of my friends."

"I guess that I have more experience with this." Victor smiled showing off his straight, pearly white teeth. "These are the cases that I work the most."

"How many of these cases have you worked?" Flora asked leaning against the door frame.

"More than I would like." Victor sighed in sadness.

"And how many cases have you won?" Flora asked.

"All of them."

Flora looked at Victor up and down and in her heart knew that he was telling the truth.

"One moment please." Flora said and ran back inside of her room to grab her phone. Flora walked back to Victor typing into the search engine the information that was on Victor's business card. Flora looked at the website and saw Victor's face under the 'Associates' tab and clicked on his bio. Everything checked out, even his case records. Flora looked up from her phone and saw Victor looking at her with a confused look on his face.

"I want you to represent me." Flora stated.

"That's great! I promise to help you in any way that I can." Victor beamed at Flora. Victor then took the business card in his hand and wrote down something on the back. "Here is my personal cell phone number and my address. Please, call me or stop by anytime if you need anything. I want to make sure that this all goes as smoothly as possible. You have already been through enough.

"Thank you. Would you like to come in? I need to change and then we can go down to the police station?" Flora asked as she opened the door and created a path for Victor to come in.

"No, that would not be professional of me. I am already risking my job coming here but I really wanted to represent you. Mr. Charles has been in and out of prison for stalking and harassment but this time, I want to make sure that he gets locked up for good."

"He has done this to other women before?" Flora looked at Victor with worried eyes.

"Not as much as he did with you." Victor sighed. "Let's not think about that for now. Please, get ready and I will wait for you out here."

Flora smiled and walked back into her room and shut the door behind her to get dressed. Flora looked in her closet and decided to wear grey sweater with black jeans and black boots. Flora pulled left her hair down and walked out to see Victor patiently waiting for her.

"Ready to go?" Victor asked.

"Ready."


	11. The Station

Flora and Victor arrived at the station before Flora's classes started. The sun was barely up and Flora looked over at Victor and sighed.

"Are you okay, Ms Linphea?" Victor asked.

"Please, call me Flora." Flora said, "I just don't want to see him, that is all. I want to run in and run out. Just thinking about him makes my stomach turn."

"It's okay. We don't have to go in if you would like. We can wait out here as long as you want." Victor smiled down at Flora and grabbed her hand to give it a comfortable squeeze.

"No, it is now or never. I will have to face him eventually."

"And I will be here every step of the way."

Together Flora and Victor walked into the police station where they were met with a police officer at the front desk.

"Good morning, Officer Hutch." Victor greeted the man with a smile.

"Ah, Victor! How is your mother doing?" the overweight officer asked.

"She's doing well but she is still a little slow after the knee replacement. That will teach her to ski at 53 years of age." Victor chuckled.

"What brings you to the station?" Officer Hutch asked.

"I am afraid that this is not a cordial business but I am here on business. I have accompanied a client so that she may file charges against a Mr. Charles."

"That scumbag, what did he do now?"

Victor looked down at Flora and saw the pained expression on her face. "I don't think that we should be discussing that now."

The officer looked over at Flora and sighed. "I see, it was bad wasn't it? I am sorry. Justice will be served. Mr. Collins is one of the best lawyers in Magix and he wins them all." Officer Hutch smiled at Flora.

"I really do hope so." Flora smiled.

"If you just want to fill these papers and turn them in, we will make sure that Mr. Charles never sees the light of day again."

"Thank you, Officer Hutch." Victor said as he took a stack of papers on a clipboard from the officer. "Why don't we sit down over here. I can help answer any of your questions."

"Thank you again, Mr. Collins. I am so glad that you have offered your help." Flora smiled a half smile before sitting down in one of the plastic chairs of the station lounge.

"Please, call me Victor." Victor looked down at Flora and his grey eyes met her green, causing Flora to blush.

Flora and Victor spent the next half hour filling out the various forms and Victor could see how much it pained Flora to recount what happened to her and have being put down on paper. Flora's hands started to shake as she wrote the actions done to her. Victor took the pen and papers, "Let me do this for you. We can also take a break if you want."

"No, I just want to get this over with." Flora sternly said but allowed for Victor to write.

She told Victor about what happened to her while he quickly wrote, hanging on to every word. Victor's face became more red as he wrote displaying his anger.

"Victor, are you alright?" Flora asked grabbing his hand but quickly retreating.

"I am fine, are you alright? I just can't believe that someone would do this to someone." Victor said.

Flora remained quiet except to answer the questions that Victor had for her. She thought about how they had only known each other for a few hours but she felt comfortable and confident around him.

"Alright, I think that these forms are done. I can turn them in and we will be on our way." Victor stood up and took the forms back to Officer Hutch.

Flora looked around the waiting room and saw all kinds of people. An old lady waiting to contest a parking ticket, a drunk in a detox cell, a mother bailing out her daughter for shoplifting, and a woman handcuffed seated in a chair arrested for solicitation. But Flora's eyes widened when she saw a man being escorted by an officer through the lobby of the station. It was her attacker.

"My my, Flora. Can't get enough of me?" the man said as he limped through the waiting room due to the stab wound in his side.

Flora sat in her chair, frozen wanting to say something but could not muster the courage. Luckily she was saved when Victor came and brought him under his protective arms.

"Mr. Charles, do not talk to my client that way!" Victor exclaimed holding Flora in his arms. Flora felt safe and did not flinch like she did with Helia. Perhaps her body was in so much shock that she could not do anything.

"I see that you have another boyfriend. Aren't we the little tease?" the man sneered at Flora.

"Officer, will you please remove him!" Victor yelled.

"I don't need to be in her presence. She will never forget me." the man said as he was taken out of the room and into another room for holding and processing.

"Flora, I am so sorry about that. I promise that it won't happen again." Flora shook in Victor's arms as her eyes glazed over. "Flora?"

"I want to go back." Flora lightly said.

Victor nodded as he continued to hold on to Flora leading her out of the station and back into his car.

"Flora, I am still so sorry. I should have requested that they waited to bring him in. It never crossed my mind."

"It is not your fault. How could I have been so weak? How will I be able to go through a court proceeding with him when I can't even be in the same room as him without freezing." Flora looked down at her hands, tears threatening to fall.

"Don't think like that. I will be with you every step of the way and you have my card if you need anything. I am always here to listen to you. I only handle one case at a time, you are my priority." Victor smiled at Flora as they pulled up to the parking lot behind Flora's dorm building.

"Thank you, I really appreciate what you have done for me." Flora smiled at Victor who gave her a small smile back.

"I want to make sure that justice is served but I also want to make you feel as comfortable during all of this. There is no need to thank me, I am just doing my job."

"Well, you are doing a good job at it. I really must be going now, I have class soon." Flora waved to Victor as she exited the car.

Victor drove off leaving Flora to head to her first class of the day, little did she know that Helia was watching the two.

 **What will happen? What does Helia think of Flora being in a car with a strange new man? Stay tuned.**


	12. Making Amends

The Winx were sitting in the common room when they heard a knock on their door.

"Are the boys coming over?" Bloom asked as she stood up from her chair and walked over to the door.

"I didn't call them over." Stella chimed in.

"That's a first." Musa muttered under her breath.

"I heard that!"

Bloom smiled and opened the door to reveal a timid Flora.

"Flora!" Bloom exclaimed as she threw her arms around Flora. The rest of the girls stood up and walked over to the door to greet Flora.

"Hey, girls. I am sorry to drop by unexpected." Flora shyly smiled.

"What are you talking about? You are always invited here!" Bloom smiled as she looked at her friend.

"Yeah, Flora. This is your room, no matter what." Tecna informed as she walked over to hug her friend.

"Thanks, girls. I actually came to ask you if you wanted to get dinner tonight. I start the trial tomorrow and I wanted to spend some time with my friends. I know that my whole life will be about this trial until it's over."

"Of course, Flora. Should we invite the boys?" Stella asked.

"No no, I would really like it to be between us girls. Plus, Helia and I had a fight." Flora sighed.

"What happened?" Musa asked.

"I don't really want to talk about it. It is mostly my fault."

"You have been through so much. You need to take care of yourself." Aisha chimed in, Flora's smile meeting in response.

"I think that I need to apologize, anyways. It was not right to treat him the way that I did. I hope that he will forgive me." Flora sighed.

"I am sure that he will. We can tell that he really likes you and there is nothing that he wouldn't want to be with you." Bloom placed a hand on Flora's shoulder as she and the rest of the Winx walked Flora inside.

"You girls always know how to make me feel better." Flora gave a soft smile as she sat on the small sofa in between Bloom and Musa.

"You're our best friend, we want you to be happy." Musa smiled.

"Yeah, and my room is getting a little too big for my liking." Bloom chuckled.

"You know that I would be more than happy to trade with you." Stella said earning her a nudge from Tecna.

"I still do not know if I will be coming back. I miss you girls but I still need time to do things on my own. I need to figure myself out and find ways to move on. It is time that I start thinking about me." Flora said.

"We agree!" Tecna exclaimed.

"I came over here to make amends with all of you but I should be making amends with myself. I have not been thinking of me first. I have always put others before me which has taught people that they can put themselves above me. Well that ends today! Today, Flora Linphea is taking control of her own life."

"That's the spirit, Flora. But you don't have to apologize to us. Now, when are we getting that dinner?" Bloom asked.

"6:30?" Flora asked.

"Sounds wonderful."

 **Sorry that this chapter is so short but I wanted to give an update. I do apologize for the wait and for this chapter that is bland and boring. Not my best work. Either way, I have finished school and I will have more free time.**


	13. Ready

"Flora, I was not expecting to see you here so early. What can I do for you?" Victor looked up from his papers as his door open to reveal a timid Flora.

"I am sorry that I am early. I just wanted the company." Flora replied. "I can leave if you want." Flora started to turn to head to the door until she was stopped.

"No, Flora. You are welcome here anytime that I am in my office. You are my only client and I am available for you. For whatever you need. It could be giving you a ride to school, getting you coffee, anything. Whatever you want, just let me know." Victor smiled as he stood up from his large chair and walked over to Flora. He picked up her hand and gave it a small squeeze.

"Thank you, you are really making me feel better." Flora sighed as she looked up into Victor's bright blue eyes.

"That is my job and I hope that you feel comfortable during the trial, as much as possible that is. I know that it will not be easy and I want you to know that I will be there for you every step of the way. I promise. You still have my number don't you?" Victor asked as he led Flora to a chair in front of his desk.

Flora took as seat as she nodded at Victor's question. Victor smiled back and walked over to a small table in the corner of his office where there was a pitcher of water and two glasses. Victor poured himself and Flora a glass. Victor walked back to Flora and handed her the water before returning to his seat behind the desk and taking a few sips.

"Victor?"

"Yes, Flora."

"Do you think that we can win this case?" Flora asked.

"He was caught in the act and the samples inside of you matched. We will need the young man who stabbed him to testify but if what happened is what you say, then I don't predict us not winning." Victor could sense Flora's nerves and stood up once again to sit in the chair next to Flora.

Victor leaned towards Flora, "That monster will be going away for good and I promise that he will never hurt you again."

"But there are others like him. What if they find me too?" Flora bent her head down.

"If there is anything that I can do to stop you being attacked again, I would do it."

"Really?" Flora looked up at Victor.

"Well, I cannot protect you at all times but I try to protect people at all costs. I guess that is why I became a lawyer at least one of the good ones." Victor chuckled.

Flora let out a soft giggle before her eyes met with Victors. Flora looked into them and saw the same warmth that she saw in Helia's when she looked into his. There was something pulling Flora closer and closer to Victor.

"Flora..." Victor whispered before Flora's lips met his. Victor and Flora stayed in that position for a while when Flora pulled away.

"I-I'm sorry. I thought that- It doesn't matter. It was not what I was..."

"I know, Flora. It was not professional of me to let it happen." Victor looked at Flora.

"When I looked into your eyes, I thought that there was something there. I kissed you and...nothing." Flora looked away.

"Flora, I am not offended. I understand." Victor smiled.

"I would understand if you didn't want to be my lawyer anymore."

"Don't be silly. Of course I would." Victor said as he grabbed Flora's hands once again in a comforting grasp. "One kiss is not going to scare me off."

Flora smiled as she looked at Victor but all she could think about was Helia. "I need to go. I will see you at one o'clock for the preliminary hearing?"

"I will be there at the courthouse waiting for you." Victor replied as Flora stood up. Victor followed suit and walked Flora to the door.

"Thank you again." Flora said as Victor opened the door.

"Thank me after we win." Victor shook his hands in defense.

"I already feel like a winner." Flora smiled before leaving the office.

Back at school, Flora walked to the Specialist's dorm room and knocked. To Flora's surprise, Riven opened the door.

"Hi, Riven. I thought you would have been at the gym or with Musa."

"I like to hang out in my room from time to time. Now, what can I do for you?" Riven scoffed back.

"Sorry, I just...anyway, have you seen Helia?" Flora asked.

"Yeah, he was in the art room." Riven pointed in the direction of the art building.

"Thanks, Riven." Flora walked down the dorm hall and out of the building until she bumped into something. Flora fell to the ground with a thud.

"Sorry, I wasn't...oh. Hello, Flora." Helia said flatly.

"Helia, just the person I was looking for." Flora smiled as she looked up at Helia but met cold eyes and a stoic expression.

"I'm surprised." Helia replied as he stood up, picking up his sketchpad.

"I wanted to apologize for lashing out at you earlier. I just needed space."

"Ha, if you didn't want to be with me you could have just told me. Don't lie to me and tell me that you needed space."

"What are you talking about, Helia?" Flora stood up and looked at Helia in confusion.

"You obviously didn't need space when I saw you with another man."

"Another man?" It finally hit Flora that he must have seen her with Victor. "Helia, that is not what it looks like. That's my lawyer. You know, for the case. Because I was raped. Which you saw." Flora bit back.

"Just a lawyer." Helia scoffed.

"I don't know where you are getting off thinking that something is going on between me and Victor."

"Oh so you are on first name basis with him." Helia interjected.

"HELIA! Are you listening to yourself? You sound ridiculous! I came to apologize and tell you that I wanted to be with you but now, I am not sure that I want to be." Flora yelled.

Helia's face dropped and his features softened. "Flora, I-"

"No, you have made it perfectly clear-" Flora growled before she was stopped by Helia's lips crashing down on hers.

Flora pushed Helia off of her. "Don't you think that you can treat me like that and then be able to kiss me."

"Flora,"

"Don't Flora me. I have been through way too much shit for you to be treating me like some sort of liar or slut. I will not tolerate it." Flora said sternly, glaring at Helia.

"I'm sorry." Helia sighed.

Flora looked at Helia, the tears threatening to fall from her eyes. She turned on her heels and walked out of the dorm building, ignoring the calls of Helia.

Flora walked and walked to the courthouse where she saw Victor sitting on a bench outside. It was only 12:15 and they had another fifteen minutes before they were supposed to meet but Flora didn't care.

Victor looked up and saw Flora approaching, tears falling from her eyes and staining her smooth, brown cheeks.

"Flora is everything alright?" Victor asked, standing up from the bench.

Flora did not reply but ran up to him and flung her arms around him. Victor caught her before Flora planted her lips on Victor's. Victor wove his fingers through Flora's caramel colored hair, bringing her closer to him.

Flora opened her mouth, allowing for Victor's tongue to enter her mouth. Flora didn't care who saw as lawyers and clients walked into the courthouse. Neither did Victor.

Victor pulled away from the kiss, breathing heavily. "I apologize, that was not professional-"

"Shut up." Flora said as she brought Victor in once again for a passionate kiss.

Flora loved the way that his lips felt on hers. They were smooth, but they were not Helia's. However, she needed to put herself first for the first time in her life. She would not be treated like the way that Helia treated her. Maybe she would forgive him eventually but right now, she needed Victor.

Victor pulled away once again. "Flora, we need to get ready for the case." Victor chuckled as he set Flora back onto her feet and picking up his briefcase.

"Yes, I'm sorry." Flora replied, a blush on her face.

"Don't. I enjoyed it but now it is time to get serious. Are you ready?"

"Ready."

 **Not what you were expecting? Maybe you were. What will our little Flora do next? What will happen between her and Victor? Flora and Helia? What will happen during the trial?**


	14. Wants and Needs

**I want to begin this chapter with a few things. I for one did not think that the last chapter would have been so contentious. I just wanted there to be some romance drama. Which brings me to point two, I am going to need people to stop calling Flora a slut. People deal with pain in different ways and nobody should be judged for it. Flora is confused and reactionary right now, not like herself at all, which trauma can do. I had half a mind to stop this story due to the PMs and reviews I was getting. As Flora stated in the last chapter, she is not a slut and I think that if she wants to consensually kiss a guy of legal age, I say why not. For now, I am going to continue the story and you will see what happens, or not if you decide to stop reading, but I can't control you.**

"And how does the defendant plead?" the judge asked as she looked at Mr. Charles and his defense attorney.

"Not guilty, your Honor." the slender defense attorney replied as she stood up from behind her table.

Flora's eyes made a quick glance over to her attacker, shocked that he would plead not guilty on what she and the rest of the world assumed to be an open and shut case. Of course, there was no offer on the table for a more lenient sentence, but why would he waste all that time and resources on a trial?

"So be it." the judge sighed, "Your bail is set at $100,000. You will hear from your warden about the trial date." the judge was about to strike her gavel when Victor shot up from his seat and all heads turned towards him.

"Your Honor, we request $3 million bail and a search of Mr. Charles's residence." Victor commanded.

"On what grounds?" the defense attorney exclaimed.

"$100,000 is only the baseline for a single rape charge, Mr. Charles has been charged with 32. One for everyday that Mr. Charles raped my client. He is also being tried for assault with a deadly weapon, giving us grounds to search his property and seize what weaponry he has." Victor explained.

The judge stared at Mr. Charles for a few seconds then turned back to Victor. "I will allow it. Bail is set at $3 million and a search warrant will be drafted and signed at the end of the day tomorrow. As for now, a guard will be posted at Mr. Charles's house so that there will be no tampering of any evidence that we manage to find." With that said, the judge banged her gavel and called the next case.

"That wasn't...too bad." Flora said as she stood up with Victor.

"The arraignment usually isn't. I just don't know why that son of a bitch wants to fight this? We have witnesses and DNA evidence." Victor questioned as he packed away his briefcase.

"So what now?" Flora asked.

"Well, I need to go back to the office to work on your case. You are always welcome to join me." Victor smiled as he and Flora exited the courtroom.

"I can't, I have class. School doesn't stop, even though my professors have been very understanding of my situation." Flora replied as they walked down the corridor of the courthouse, lawyers and clerks hastily walking past them, getting to wherever they needed to go.

"Ah, well." Victor sighed. "If you need me, I will be in my office tonight. Got a lot of work to do." Victor bent down and gave Flora a small kiss on the cheek.

Flora made her way back to school and just in time for her Environmental Ethics class.

When she walked in, she saw Aisha sitting in the front of the class and for the first time in what felt like an eternity, Flora sat with her.

"Well, welcome back, Teacher's Pet." Aisha turned in her chair to face Flora.

"It's not what you think. I still don't feel too comfortable sitting in the front but Helia is sitting in the back and I don't want to see him right now." Flora sighed.

"I thought that you were going to apologize to him?" Aisha asked.

"I was, I even was going to tell him that I loved him but he went on this passive-aggressive tirade."

"Why?"

"Because he saw me in the car with Victor...my lawyer." Flora replied.

"Did he assume you two were..." Aisha led on.

"Yes, and we weren't but..."

"But what, Flora?"

"I kissed Victor." Flora whispered.

"No way!" Aisha exclaimed causing the whole class to look at them.

Aisha leaned in towards Flora to whisper. "And how was it?"

"Well, it was good but it was nothing like kissing Helia."

"So why not just be with Helia?"

"And here lies the problem," Flora leaned back in her chair. "I think that Helia may be too passionate for me right now. I know that he means well but when he tries to decide how I heal and then assumes the worst of me, I become stressed out. I know that he cares but I don't know if I can handle too many emotions right now. Whereas with Victor, he is what I need right now. He is calm and methodical. He allows me to take time to heal in my own way. He is comforting."

"Maybe Helia can be the same way. Just talk to him." Aisha glanced behind her back to look at Helia who was writing in his notebook.

"It's just not that simple for me right now." Flora sighed.

"What happened to the Flora who said she was going to take charge of her own life?" Aisha nudged Flora's shoulder.

"It's not as easy as I thought it was going to be." Flora scoffed.

"It never is." Aisha smiled back. "However, if you need to relax, which it sounds like you do, the girls and the guys are throwing a party for my birthday this weekend. Don't tell them that I know. But you should come. It's not like you really need an invitation but I am extending one anyways."

"I would love to come." Flora smiled.

"You can also bring Victor if you want." Aisha wiggled her eyebrows.

"I can ask but I don't know if he would want to come party with some college students."

Aisha nodded her head and turned to face the front of the classroom when their teacher walked in. Flora did the same, unaware that Helia was staring longingly at her from the back of the classroom.

After class, Flora gathered her books and started to head out of the classroom when she heard a voice call out to her.

"Flora!" Helia called out.

Flora spun around and crossed her arms, "What?"

"Flora, I just really wanted to apologize for earlier. I was angry and hurt and..."

"Helia, I really don't want to talk about this. Not here." Flora groaned.

Helia then took Flora's hand and led her down the hallway and into his room.

"There, now can we talk?" Helia asked as he shut his door.

"Please don't make me do this." Flora whispered.

"I just want to know what to do. Please, tell me what you want." Helia pleaded.

"I...I..." Flora stammered as Helia stared into her eyes.

"You what?" Helia asked as he gripped onto Flora's shoulders.

"I don't know!" Flora shouted before leaving the room, slamming the door in Helia's face.

Helia bolted out of the door and ran to catch Flora.

"Flora!" Helia caught Flora and grabbed her wrist. "Just tell me what is going through your head and we can..."

"No! Helia, there is no 'we'! 'We' weren't attacked at my job. 'We' didn't have to feel that man inside of them every night for over a month. 'We' didn't have the person that they love watch it all happen. It was me! All me! _I_ need to figure this out for myself!" Flora shouted, not caring who heard.

"Wait, you still love me?" Helia was taken aback.

"Yes and that is why this is so hard." Flora threw her hands in the air.

"How? I love you too, Flora. We can be together." Helia moved closer to Flora.

Flora looked up at Helia and felt the tears come to her eyes.

"Helia, I want you so bad." Flora sighed.

"Then, please, be with me." Helia brought Flora's hands up to his chest and a tear rolled down Flora's tanned cheek.

"But right now, you are not what I need."

 **I know this is torturous for some of you but patience, my lovely readers.**


	15. The Party

Victor was sitting in his office when there was a knock on his door.

"Come in!" Victor shouted as he set down a newspaper that he was reading. The door opened and in walked a shy Flora.

"I hope that this isn't a bad time, I know that we said we would meet tonight but I wanted to come earlier."

"You are always welcome, no matter the time. Come and sit, tell me what is on your mind." Victor smiled as he stood up from his chair and motioned for Flora to take a seat in it. "I am going to make some coffee, do you want any?"

"Do you have any tea?" Flora asked as she sat down.

"You mean overrated leaf water?"

"Isn't coffee just bitter bean juice?" Flora retorted.

"Have you ever thought about going into law?" Victor laughed causing Flora to let out a small giggle.

"That is not the life for me. So, do you have tea or not?"

"I do not, I am afraid all I have is coffee or water." Victor shook his head as he poured himself a mug of coffee. Flora just sighed as Victor sat behind his desk.

"So, what can I do for you?" Victor asked as he blew on his hot mug of coffee.

"I just was wanting to know if you would want to come to a party with me this weekend." Flora asked as she looked up at Victor.

"A party? At your school?" Victor lifted an eyebrow as he took a sip of his coffee.

"I just thought that since you never really got the full college experience, being a child genius and all, I would think that you could use a party. Now that you are old enough and all." Flora said as she twiddled her thumbs.

"I don't know how professional it would be." Victor said.

"And us kissing in the courthouse was professional?" Flora scoffed.

"Well, when you put it like that..." Victor smiled, "I don't see why I can't make an appearance...and kiss you right now." Victor said as he stood up from his chair and walked over to Flora. He bent down and gave Flora a soft kiss on her lips. Flora stood up so that both her and Victor were upright, never breaking the kiss. Flora walked backwards until she ran into the desk. Victor lifted Flora onto the desk as their kiss became more heated and Flora was shoving Victor's suit jacket off of his body.

Flora's breath became more labored and her mind started reeling as the kiss became more intense and passionate. She ran her hands over Victor's chest, feeling the bumps and grooves of his muscles through his crisp white shirt. Victor ran a hand up and down Flora's calf, the smooth skin gliding across his fingertips. His hand moved further and further up until Flora gasped and pushed him off of her.

"I'm sorry." Flora said through pants.

"Are you okay? Is something wrong?" Victor asked with sincerity as Flora still sat on the edge of his desk.

"I...I...Your hand. It went too far up. I saw..." Flora tried to explain.

"Flora, calm down. I get it. I won't do anything that you feel uncomfortable doing." Victor said as he walked closer to Flora and brought her into a hug.

"Thank you, I think that I just want to go back to my room." Flora sighed as she regained a normal breathing pattern.

"Do you want me to take you back?"

"No, I need the fresh air but thank you. I will see you on Saturday?" Flora asked.

"Yes, what time should I be there?"

"Come at eight and meet me in my room." Flora smiled as she headed towards the door.

"Great, I will see you then."

"See you then. Bye, Victor."

"Goodbye, Flora." Victor smiled as Flora walked out of his office.

It was Saturday night and Flora was in her room getting ready for the party when she heard a knock on her door. She ran over and opened the door to see Victor. He was wearing black pants and a tight white t-shirt.

"Hello..." Flora said as her eyes went up and down Victor's body.

"I hope that I am not too informal. I thought this is what people wear to these sort of things." Victor said, oblivious to the drool coming out of Flora's mouth.

"No, you look perfect."

"You look great yourself. I even like the curlers in the hair. Is that something that is in style right now?" Victor chuckled.

"Just get inside." Flora rolled her eyes.

Flora led Victor into her room and she walked into her closet while Victor took a seat on her bed.

"If you wanted me to come later I could have." Victor said as he looked around Flora's room.

"No, it is my fault. I took too long in the shower. I just need to get dressed and fix my hair."

"I think you looked fine the way you were."

"I am not going to a party with my hair in curlers and a dirty t-shirt." Flora chuckled.

"I'm going in a t-shirt." Victor said looking down at his simple outfit.

"Well, the patriarchy demands that I go in something else." Flora replied as she stepped out of the closet wearing a tight strapless maroon dress. She fumbled with the curlers taking them out of her hair before flipping her hair back and forth. Flora let out a deep breath.

"How do I look?" Flora asked as she placed her hands on her hips.

"You look stunning." Victor answered as he stood up and walked over to Flora. He snaked his arms around her waist and brought her in closer. He bent his head down low and brushed his lips over Flora's neck and shoulders. Flora let out a soft breath.

"I think we should head over to the party." Flora whispered.

"I don't know if I want to go anymore." Victor purred in Flora's ear as his hands traced Flora's waist.

"I promised Aisha that I would go." Flora smiled as she looked up at Victor.

"Why must you be such a good friend?" Victor playfully whined as he threw his head back.

Flora giggled, "Come on or we will be late."

Flora and Victor made their way out of Flora's room and walked to the student center where Aisha's party would be held. Victor and Flora walked hand in hand into the room where they were greeted by a slightly tipsy Bloom and a sober Sky trying to keep Bloom in check.

"Flora! I didn't know if you would come! I am so happy to see you! Oh, and who is this?" Bloom looked up and down at Victor. "Please don't tell me that he is here with you? I wouldn't mind having some of that later on tonight."

"Bloom, honey. I'm right here." Sky coughed.

"Sorry, sweetie but look at him, you can't blame me." Bloom turned back to face Sky.

"He is attractive I guess but...nevermind, let's get you over to the couch so you can sit down." Sky took Bloom's hand before turning to Flora and Victor, "Refreshments are in the back and just a warning, that this is Riven's famous Party Punch so please drink responsibly."

Flora waved at Bloom and Sky as they walked towards the chairs and couches in the back of the room.

"Well that was...embarrassing." Flora said.

"Really? I rather enjoyed it." Victor smiled.

"Yeah, easy for you to say. You're hot. I don't want to beat the girls off of you all night." Flora replied.

"And I'm not going to have to chase the boys away?" Victor scoffed as he raised an eyebrow and gestured towards Flora and then to two guys standing in a corner looking Flora up and down.

"As long as we're together, I think that people will get the hint." Flora smiled.

Flora and Victor walked to the back where they each got a cup of Riven's Famous Party Juice. Flora took a sip and coughed as the punch burned through her body. Victor meanwhile gulped the whole cup down.

"You're like a tank." Flora remarked.

"My bosses really like to drink hard liquor and to keep up with them I have to drink it straight, this is nothing. It just tastes like juice and I was thirsty. Looking at you makes me feel very hot." Victor smiled.

Flora blushed and took another gulp of her drink, starting to feel the liquor hit her.

Flora looked up from her cup towards the doorway and felt her heart drop. There was Helia standing by the doorway with Krystal. Flora knew that she was with Victor but she just couldn't get over Helia. They hadn't seen each other since the day that she told him that she couldn't be with him.

Flora took her cup and chugged the whole thing down and filled it up again, drinking all of that in one go before slamming her cup on the table, never taking her eyes away from Helia.

"Flora, is everything okay?" Victor asked in shock as he watched her drink two large cups of the special punch.

"Dance with me." Flora growled.

"What?"

"Dance with me now." Flora narrowed her eyes as she made eye contact with Helia and grabbed Victor's hand, dragging him to the center of the room.

Flora placed Victor's hands on her waist as she brought her arms around Victor's neck as their bodies swayed with the music. The music was fast and Flora could feel her mind become clouded by the alcohol and the music. Victor was confused but any chance to be next to Flora was something he wasn't going to pass up.

Flora moved closer and closer to Victor when she saw Helia in front of her dancing with Krystal. Her eyes never left Helia and Helia's eyes never left Flora. They stared at each other and their eyes seemed to bore into each other's souls. Helia brought Krystal to him and brought his lips to her neck, still looking at Flora who's eyes widened.

Flora looked up at Victor and smiled as she brought her lips to his. Victor's hands made their way to Flora's cheeks and brought her closer into the kiss. Flora moaned as she closed her eyes, no longer looking at Helia. Flora's fingers ran through Victor's hair, the soft blonde locks sweeping through her fingers like silk. Flora became lost in the kiss until something bumped into Victor, sending Flora backwards.

"Oh, sorry, man." the voice said, Flora looked up to see that it was Helia who had a devilish grin on his face.

"It's alright." Victor turned around and smiled, oblivious who he was talking to.

"I think that we were just leaving anyways." Flora looked at Helia and smirked.

"Who am I to stop Flora from sleeping with her lawyer." Helia scoffed.

"Excuse me?" Victor asked, the maliciousness in Helia's voice not getting passed Victor's ears.

"I think you heard me correctly. Flora can sleep with whoever she wants. Just don't think that it is going to be special or anything." Helia rolled his eyes.

Flora's face turned red, "What is your problem?"

"I don't have a problem. I just mean that your lawyer should know that this romance will last for a few days before you change your mind."

"Dude, just chill out!" Victor yelled.

"What are you going to do about it?" Helia asked as he let go of Krystal and stepped up to Victor.

"This." Victor punched Helia in the jaw, sending Helia backwards. However, Helia quickly regained his composure and tackled Victor to the ground. The room went silent except for Flora who screamed for the two boys to stop.

Helia and Victor separated at hearing Flora screaming at them. Helia stood up and started walking towards Flora but Flora bent down and helped Victor to his feet.

"Come on, Victor. Let's get you cleaned up." Flora said as she looked at Victor's blood stained white shirt.

Flora and Victor walked out of the room and stumbled towards Flora's room. She opened the door and led Victor inside and sat him on her bed. She walked into the bathroom where she took a washcloth to clean the blood from Victor's face.

"I'm sorry about all of that." Flora sighed as she sat down next to Victor.

"How are you feeling?" Victor asked as Flora ran the washcloth down Victor's face.

"I'm not the one that just got out of a fight." Flora chuckled. "Nothing like a fight to sober me up."

"I meant, with that guy. I hope that what he said didn't hurt you too much." Flora's face dropped.

"No, I am fine. I am lucky to have someone like you to defend me though."

"I'm a lawyer, it's my job."

"I'm sorry that your first college party wasn't that great." Flora frowned.

"What are you talking about? It was everything that I hoped it would be. I got to dance with the prettiest girl there and I even got into a stupid fight. It's just like the movies." Victor laughed causing Flora to giggle.

"Come on, let's get you out of this stained shirt. I can throw it in with my laundry." Flora said not realizing the consequences until the shirt was off of Victor and Flora was faced with Victor's bare torso. Every muscle seemed to be defined and Flora couldn't help but to stare.

"Flora, are you okay?" Victor asked as he ran a comforting hand on Flora's arm.

"I am great." Flora whispered as she looked up at Victor's face. She moved closer and closer.

"Good." the breath of his word hitting Flora in the face. Victor closed the space and placed his lips tenderly on Flora's.

Flora leaned into Victor before swinging her legs around so that she was straddling Victor. Victor's arms hugged Flora's waist as his hand rubbed her back. She moaned as the kiss grew more and more intense. His hands found the top of Flora's dress and his hands shook as they touched the zipper. Flora broke the kiss and nodded. That was all Victor needed before he swiftly brought the zipper down.

The maroon dress fell at Flora's waist exposing her bare breasts and slim torso. Victor held his breath as he looked at Flora and the marks on her body from the attacks.

"I know it's not everythi-" Flora was cut off by Victor's lips crashing down onto her's. Victor's hands ran up and down the side of Flora's torso. Flora pushed Victor so that he was now lying on the bed and she was still on top of him.

Victor, without breaking the kiss, flipped Flora around so that she was now underneath him. His lips made their way down Flora's neck and the top of her chest, leaving light marks on the way. Flora moaned as Victor's lips trailed down Flora's chest. Victor stopped before reaching Flora's breasts. He brought his lips back up to Flora's.

Flora moved her hands down to Victor's waistband and fumbled as she desperately tried to bring them down. Victor grabbed her hands and brought them back to his back before sliding down his pants. Flora moaned as she felt his hands make their way up her thighs. She held her breath as his hands found their way to the folds of private area. He pulled down the underwear that Flora was wearing before discarding them on the floor.

Victor's lips left Flora's, "Flora, are you sure?"

"Yes." Victor's lips found Flora's before he thrusted into Flora. Flora let out a soft moan as her body slowly melted into Victor's.

 **Oops ;) Don't give up on me yet, readers. Love ya.**


	16. Author's Note and Gossip

**Alright, so I do not know how many times that I have to say this but PEOPLE HEAL IN THEIR OWN WAYS AND IN THEIR OWN NONLINEAR TIMES! Here's a secret for you. I was inspired to write this story because I myself have been a survivor of sexual assault and I have many of friends who have as well. Every six seconds, someone is raped and that is A LOT of people and not everyone is the same. Just because you were assaulted doesn't mean that your sexual liberty is put on hold. For me, I was okay with people touching me and I really didn't feel that affected by it. Only a few close friends know what has happened to me and I have continued with my life, and having sex with whoever I find attractive and worthy of all of this awesome I have. However, for others, they cannot stand to be touched by people even after it happens. Whichever response that people have to an extremely unfair and unfortunate experience is valid and should be treated with understanding and respect. I wanted to make this story confusing and frustrating because unlike what you see in Law and Order:SVU and other depictions like that, nothing is 100% clear. Sexual assault is confusing and frustrating. Your sense of agency is taken away from you in a blink of an eye. When it is all done, whether it be one time or multiple times, some people are left feeling like they have lost control of everything. Flora doesn't know what she wants. Her life has been changed forever. I think that there needs to be some patience here with this story. If you cannot handle it, then I really think that you need to re-evaluate the ways in which you look at sexual assault and the different ways that people cope, whether they are healthy or not. Flora's reactions are real (in the real world that is) and they are valid. I promised that I would finish the story and I am. If you don't like it, then go somewhere else.**

Flora had spent the rest of the night and most of Sunday with Victor. They talked, watched TV, and repeated what they had done Saturday night...multiple times.

It was now Monday morning and Flora was getting ready for class, missing the feeling of waking up to Victor beside her and his warm body wrapping around her like a blanket. It was cold without him. Maybe she could get over Helia. Just maybe.

Flora walked out of her room and headed off to her Environmental Ethics class, where as normal, she found a seat next to Aisha at the front of the classroom.

"Hey, Flora." Aisha greeted with a smile.

"Hi, Aisha." Flora replied as she took a seat.

"Thank you for coming to my party on Saturday. I am sorry what happened between Victor and Helia. You shouldn't have left early because of them." Aisha sighed.

"No, I had fun during and after the party." Flora smirked.

"Flora, what happened?" Aisha asked loudly, causing a few people in the classroom to turn around. Helia, who was sitting a few rows behind the two girls shifted in his chair.

"Well..."

"DID YOU HAVE SEX WITH VICTOR?" Aisha exclaimed with a large smile.

"Oh my God, Aisha. Did you have to shout it out so loud?" Flora gritted as she slid down in her chair.

"I'm sorry but he was so cute! How was it?" Aisha asked.

"It was...really good." Flora beamed as she leaned back in her chair. "I didn't even leave the room Sunday morning."

"More than once? Flora, you dirty girl." Aisha smirked as she gave Flora a light punch.

"And I am so sore because of it." Flora said as she rubbed her back. "Let's just say Victor is not a small guy."

The girls continued to talk as Helia looked on from behind, trying his best not to explode with emotion. So this was it. She really didn't want him. She had moved on. Listening to Flora's weekend with Victor made Helia want to barf and scream all at the same time. He wanted to punch a wall, he wanted to punch Victor.

"-and what he did with his tongue-"

That was it, Helia needed to get out of there. He quickly bent down and grabbed his backpack and shoved his pens and notebook inside before shooting up from his place. He bolted past the row of students and slammed open the door, making a fast getaway.

"What is his problem?" Brandon asked as he entered the classroom. He walked over and took a seat next to Flora.

"I think that he is mad that Flora fucked Victor." Aisha smiled.

"You did not!" Brandon gasped in surprise.

"I did." Flora sheepishly replied.

"I'm surprised the school hasn't been burned down yet." Brandon chuckled. "I think that you should go talk to him."

"I am not talking to him. I need to get over him. I can't be with him right now, it just isn't the right time." Flora sighed.

"I understand but I would hate for things to get awkward." Brandon shrugged.

"Like they aren't awkward already?" Flora scoffed as she rolled her eyes.

"You know what I mean. Helia couldn't take his eyes off of you on Saturday and your eyes were glued to him the minute that he walked in." Brandon remarked.

"You noticed?" Flora asked.

"Everyone noticed." Aisha replied.

"It is evident that he still really likes you and that you like him or the both of you wouldn't be showing off your dates on the dancefloor. It was the most intense and sexual pissing contest I have ever seen. Stella and I like to see which one of us can get the most attention but what happened between you and Helia on Saturday would have put us to shame."

"I don't think that Helia likes me anymore." Flora sighed. "I don't think that he wants to talk to me."

"Well, you do what you need and want to do." Aisha smiled as she gave Flora a comforting rub on the back. "But do stop by our room tonight, I am sure that the other girls will want to hear all about you weekend with Victor and all of the hot things that happened. Don't leave anything out, you know that Stella would not allow for a single detail to be missing."

"Okay okay, I will." Flora giggled as she turned to face the front of the room as class was beginning.

Outside of the classroom, Helia had found his way to the art room, the only place that he felt he could express himself. He slammed the door and locked it before turning on the stereo and blasting the hardest and heaviest music he could find. He yelled before walking over to the art supply closet and pulling out a variety of paints. He didn't care what colors because that didn't matter. He walked over to an easel and set a blank canvas on it. He dipped as many paintbrushes could fit in his hand into different colored paints and began splattering paint on the canvas.

He used all of his strength to send the paint flying towards the easel. Reds mixed with greens, blues mixed with pinks. The painting looked like it belonged in the garbage but Helia needed to get out everything he had in him.

The paint cans ran dry and Helia fell to the ground panting. He looked up and in the mess of colors all he could think about was Flora. She would not escape his mind but he needed to forget her. He needed to move on.

But he couldn't.


	17. A Month Later

A month had passed and Flora had spent countless hours with Victor. In her room, in his apartment, and in his office. They had decided that the office would be used for strictly professional means. Well, it was supposed to be that way but a few kisses would be stolen here or there.

Victor was always kind to Flora and was there for her when she needed help. He was there at her door with tea or cookies or whatever she asked for. He let her talk for hours without saying a word and without trying to offer her advice. She appreciated that about him the most. He never made her do anything that she didn't feel like doing. There were days when they would be talking about the case and Flora would have a flashback. He would hold her and tell her that everything would be alright. Sometimes he would just hold her hand and they would sit in silence as Flora cried. The silence is what Flora loved the most.

Her mind kept running back to Helia and how he always wanted to be there for her as well but in a different way. Helia was somebody who always wanted to appease and make things right. He wanted to help and to fix things. Advising Flora to take things slow when she didn't want to take anything anywhere. She needed time to heal on her own and without judgement and Victor gave that to her.

But no matter how much she appreciated all that Victor had done for her, she couldn't help but to think of Helia. In class, they would keep their distance and outside of class they would avoid each other like the plague. When they would hang out with their friends, Flora and Helia made it a point to occupy themselves with things that wouldn't have a reason to bring them together. They stayed on opposite sides of the room but that didn't mean that they wouldn't steal glances at each other with the other one wasn't looking.

However, right now, Flora was sitting in one of the chairs in front of Victor's desk, going over the plan for the first day of the trial.

"Are you sure that I am ready?" Flora nervously asked.

"Well, you kind of have to be. There is no way that we can move this around." Victor lightly chuckled as he looked at Flora.

"But what if I get up there and choke?"

"You won't. You will be fine and this case will be over sooner than you know. But I do need you to talk to someone." Victor said.

"Who?" Flora asked.

"Um, whoever this Helia Saladin person is. He was the one who stabbed Mr. Charles. He needs to testify because they will definitely ask about that."

"I don't think that he will want to." Flora whispered as she looked down at her hands.

"Why not?"

"Remember Aisha's party?"

"I remember after the party." Victor smirked as he leaned forward.

"Ha ha," Flora rolled her eyes, "well you know that guy you got in a fight with?"

"Yeah, and?" Victor asked as he crossed his arms.

"That's Helia Saladin." Flora replied.

"Oh, well, do you want me to go with you?" Victor asked.

"No, I need to do this on my own and I don't need you two getting in another fight." Flora chuckled as she stood up.

"Well, if you need anything, you have my number. I'll see you at the courthouse at 9am." Victor stood up and walked towards Flora, giving her a peck on the cheek.

Flora stood outside of the Specialists' door and held her breath before raising her hand to knock. Before her knuckles met the wooden door a voice came from behind her.

"Nobody is in there." Flora turned around to see Helia.

"Helia." Flora gasped.

"Yeah, that's me." Helia coldly said.

"I was looking for you."

"Really?" Helia crossed his arms.

"Yes, I came to ask if you would testify." Flora stoically informed Helia despite her heart beating loudly in her chest.

"Yeah, sure. When do I have to be there?" Helia asked.

"The trial starts tomorrow at 9:30am. I don't know when you will need to speak so you need to be there for the whole time." Flora replied.

"I'll be there."

There was a tension in the air for the brief moments that they had stood face to face. This was the closest that they had been in over a month and it took everything in their power to not move closer together.

"I'm going to take a shower." Helia said as he tried to move past Flora and into his room.

"Okay, I need to head to bed. Big day ahead of me."

"Yeah, okay." Helia replied as he placed his key in the lock.

"Helia," Helia froze.

"What?"

"Thank you."


	18. Day 1

Flora sat outside of the courtroom waiting for Victor, it was now 9:02 and Victor was nowhere to be found. Flora was dressed in a formal black dress and short black heels. Her hair was up in a high ponytail and her makeup was minimal. On the outside, she looked like she was ready to face the trial, but on the outside, she was a complete wreck.

The doors opened to the courthouse and in walked Victor as he marched past the other lawyers.

"I'm sorry I'm late, something came up at the office." Victor said as he walked up to Flora.

"Is everything alright?" Flora asked as she stood up.

"Yes, nothing to worry about. Are you ready for this?" Victor asked as he lightly rubbed Flora's arm.

Flora took in a deep breath and let it out with a sigh.

"I am."

Victor opened the door to the courtroom to find that it was empty, giving him enough time to practice his opening statement, set up his notes, and run through the procedure with Flora.

"Today we are going to question you and Mr. Charles. Tomorrow, we will have the opportunity to hear from witnesses, well one witness. After that, the defense attorney and I will give our closing remarks. This should be an open and close case."

"Should be?" Flora asked.

"Yes, unless you are hiding something from me."

"Of course not." Flora replied as she stared at Victor.

"Great." Victor smiled before he pulled up the sleeve to his suit jacket. He looked at his watch. "9:20, we should take a seat, the room will be opening up for the viewers and the jury should be filing in soon."

Flora took a deep breath.

"Flora," Victor said as he turned Flora's face towards him, "when they bring in Mr. Charles, do not look at him. He cannot say anything directly to you or he will be held in contempt. He will try to get under your skin, you cannot let him do that. If you need to, just hold my hand under the table." Flora nodded her head before Victor stole a fast kiss.

The doors opened and the Winx and Specialists made their way into the courtroom and sat in the seats directly behind Flora. Flora's parents would have shown up but Flora was already nervous and embarrassed that she did not want her parents there. Next walked in a few of the people that Flora used to work with at the flower shop, including the owner. Flora smiled at everyone as they walked in. It comforted her knowing that there were so many people that cared for her.

Flora's heart sped up as the door opened for the last time. Helia walked in and sat next to the Specialists. His hair was brushed back and he wore black pants and a white button up shirt. His sleeves were rolled up so that Flora could see his strong hands and forearms. Flora's eyes hovered but the spell was soon broken as the door on the side of the courtroom opened and the jury walked in.

Flora saw the people that made up the jury. Six men and six women. The lead juror was a young woman who had to be in her late twenties. She had brown hair and blue eyes. She wore a pink floral dress that covered her protruding pregnancy bump. Flora felt comforted by her.

However, Flora's eyes were diverted when _he_ walked in. He was wearing a dirty brown suit and he looked like he hadn't shaved in days. His hair was a mess and nothing about him was as sleek and smooth as when he held her down all those times. Flora quickly grasped Victor's hand and squeezed it tight. Victor gave her hand a light squeeze and brushed his thumb lightly over the top of her hand. Flora did her best to control her breathing but she felt like she could vomit at any moment.

He made his way over to the defendant's table where he sat down and glanced over to Flora. Luckily, Flora had heeded Victor's advice and kept her eyes forward. The side door opened again and the bailiff walked out to announce the arrival of the judge.

"All rise, the Honorable Jeffrey Waters presiding."

The people in the courtroom stood up as an old and short judge walked into the courtroom and took his seat at the front of the courtroom. He motioned for everyone to sit down and nodded to the stenographer.

The trial was about to begin.

The opening statements were surprisingly short. The defense seemed to have given up before the trial had started making Victor's job a lot easier than he thought that it was going to be. The evidence was all there to lock Flora's attacker up for the rest of his natural life but Flora could not understand why he wanted to waste his and everyone else's time and money on a court case. Even the jurors looked surprised to be there.

However, it was now time for the examination.

Flora, the accuser, was the first person to be called to the stand. Flora took a deep breath and slowly stood up. She walked to the stand where she was sworn in. She said the oath, her hands shaking and her voice wavering. She cursed herself for letting _him_ see her so nervous. As she sat down, she looked at Victor who was staring intensely at her, ready to ask her the questions he privately prepared for examination. But Flora's eyes caught the blues of Helias. They were strong and reassuring. Flora looked at the rest of his face and noticed that he was looking too. He gave her a quick and small grin which seemed to instantly calm Flora's nerves.

"Ms. Linphea, I am just going to ask you a few simple "yes" "no" questions. Just so that we can gauge your natural response." Victor said. "Is that alright?"

"Yes?" Flora furrowed her eyebrows, "Was that one of the questions?"

Victor chuckled, "No, Ms. Linphea. I will ask the first one now. Is your name Jean Grace Linphea?"

"No."

"Do you go to Magix University?"

"Yes."

"Are your parents both alive?"

"Yes."

"Do you have a brother?"

"No."

"A sister?"

"Yes."

"Thank you, Ms. Linphea." Victor smiled, "I will now begin to ask you questions about the night of the attack."

"Which one?" Flora muttered.

Victor cleared his throat, "The first one. Where were you when you claim that my client attacked you?"

"I was at my job, Magix Plant and Seed Emporium."

"Do you remember what time it was?"

"We were just closing, it was around 10pm."

"Were you alone?"

"Yes, I stayed back to finish sorting out seed packets."

"And when would you say that my client came into the shop?"

"Oh I don't know? Around 10:05."

"What was he there for?"

"Well, me apparently." Flora rolled her eyes.

"Let me rephrase, what did he tell you he was there for?"

"He told me that he was looking for flowers. For a girlfriend I think."

"It was after closing you said?"

"Yes."

"Why did you not turn him away?"

"It was only a few minutes after closing and I didn't want to be rude. He said he would be quick. I have helped customers after hours before."

"How many customers would you say that you have helped?"

"I don't know, maybe five or six."

"So this is a pattern of your? Helping out others?"

"I mean, I want to be helpful when I can."

"That is very thoughtful of you Ms. Linphea. So tell me, what happened during the attack?"

Flora stiffened in her chair. She looked back at Helia, whose face was now stoic and his jaw clenched.

"I went in the back to see if we had the flowers that he was looking for. I found a few in the back, on a table." Flora lowered her head and stared at her hands, "He wanted pink dahlias. I could never forget that flower, he sent them to me every day for a month..."

"Ms. Linphea, please stick to the night in question." Victor interjected.

"Sorry, I turned around to go back to the front of the store and help him check out. When I turned around I saw him staring right at me. I told him that the back room was just for employees. He came closer and closer to me, I was confused. He said that he had a girlfriend. He kissed me."

"I pushed him off of me and that is when he grabbed my wrist and shoved me into the wall. He then pulled out a knife and placed it to my neck."

"What did you do then?"

"Nothing," a tear started to fall from Flora's eye, "I was paralyzed, frozen with fear. All I could think about was my friends and family. I thought about He-. I didn't know if I would ever see them again."

"What happened next?"

"He...he began to touch me and he started to cut away at my clothes. My shirt and bra then he pulled down my shorts. He bent me down and that is when it happened."

"What happened, Flora?" Victor asked.

Flora looked up to reveal her tears and her puffy cheeks, "He raped me. I can still remember, in and out, in and out. It seemed like it would never stop. The cold metal of the blade running up and down my back."

"Did Mr. Charles ejaculate inside of you?"

"Yes."

"Was there protection?"

"No."

"What happened after?"

"He bent over and whispered in my ear, I could never forget those words, 'You were so tight, Flora. Were you saving yourself for me? You are such a good girl. I enjoyed our time together and I can't wait until we can be together again. Remember, tell anyone and you know what happens.'"

"What would happen, Flora?"

"He would kill everyone that I loved. My friends and family."

"And did this happen every night? At the flower shop?" Victor asked.

"No, I would meet him at the Magix University Greenhouse. He would leave me notes every day with a pink dahlia on them."

Victor turned around and walked to the prosecution's table and pulled out a stack of every note and some of the dried flowers that Flora had saved.

"May I submit to the jury, the letters that Mr. Charles sent to my client. Along with a note from the forensic examiner matching the fingerprints to that of a Ms. Flora Linphea and a Mr. Charles. There was another fingerprint on one of the notes belonging to a Mr. Helia Saladin but he can be ruled out due to his involvement in the last attack." Victor handed the notes to the bailiff and turned back to Flora and faced the judge.

"No further questions, your Honor." Victor looked down at Flora and gave her a small smile before walking about to his seat.

The defense attorney stood up and walked up to Flora.

"So going through all of that, how would you say that you felt?" the defense attorney asked.

"Sad, hopeless, afraid, hurt, scared, do I need to go on?" Flora asked.

"No, we get it. Are you sure that this is how you felt?"

"Yes, of course. I know how I felt. I know what happened."

"I don't think you are being completely honest Ms. Linphea."

Victor shot up from his seat, "Objection! Leading statement!"

"The jury will scratch the last thing said by Mr. Meyer. Continue but watch yourself." Judge Waters ordered.

"Sorry. I present to the people of the courtroom and the jury a collection of tapes that was found at Mr. Charles's residence during the search."

Flora looked up at Victor with wide eyes and Victor once again shot up.

"The prosecution has not seen this evidence!" Victor shouted.

"I sent you copies a week ago. Did you not see them?" the defense attorney said as he placed a DVD into a DVD player.

"I did not." Victor answered.

"Well, then I guess that is too bad. Maybe next time you should be more focused on the case than on your client."

Victor looked up at Flora and for the first time she saw worry in his eyes. Flora and the rest of the room turned their attention to the screen. There was a static sound and then what came next made the courtroom gasp.

There was Flora on the screen moaning as _he_ was going in and out of her. He was holding the camera as Flora was on all fours, the other hand grasping her hair. She was completely naked and her backside was on full display, giving everyone view to _his_ shaft rhythmically penetrate her. She was wet and all one could hear was the slapping of skin and the moans of pleasure coming from her mouth.

" _Do you like it when I fuck you like that?"_

 _Flora moaned behind a light whimper._

" _Are you mine?"_

" _Yes."_

" _Good, girl."_

Flora's face went white and she looked at Victor who was staring wide eyed at the screen in shock, the Winx and Specialists had shut their eyes. She could have sworn that tears were coming from their eyes as they could not escape the sounds. Flora looked to Helia who was staring straight at Flora, sadness written all over his face as he was once again forced to listen to an attack.

But then Flora looked at _him_. He was smiling, staring at her. He gave her a wink and blew her a kiss. This is why he wanted the trial. It was one last way of torturing her. Making her look like a whore in front of her friends and the people in the courtroom. In front of Helia.

Flora felt a tightness build in her chest. The room was burning up and her head was spinning. She needed to get out of there and fast.

"Excuse me." Flora gasped.

"Ms. Linphea, you have not been dismissed." the judge said.

"I...I...I need to get out of here." Flora started to hyperventilate as she clutched her chest.

She stood up and started to walk to the door.

"Ms. Linphea come back here!"

Flora ignored the order of the judge and her feet began to pick up speed until she was running out of the courtroom where she found a garbage can and proceeded to expel the contents of her breakfast.

She thought that she could do it. She couldn't. Deep down she knew one thing was certain.

 _He_ won.


	19. The Truth Comes Out

**This chapter will be short but this is also the fourth one in a day so...**

"What the hell was that?" a voice behind Flora exclaimed.

She turned around from her hunched position over the trash can to see Victor standing behind her, his face red.

"The video?" Flora asked, trying to regain her breath.

"No, I don't care about that. Why did you run out like that?"

"Excuse me?" Flora narrowed her eyes. She couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"Why did you run out?" Victor crossed his arms as he looked down at Flora. "I had to call an emergency recess to save your ass from being in violation of court proceedings."

"Do you think that I enjoyed seeing myself on display like that?" Flora shouted as she threw up her arms.

"Do you think that I liked seeing you like that? No! Of course not but I have a job to do! You have a job to do!"

"Well I am sorry that I couldn't perform!"

"You put on quite a performance for Mr. Charles." Victor mumbled.

"What did you just say?" Flora gasped as she stepped up to Victor.

"I can't believe I thought you were strong enough for this. I thought that fuc-you are really going to blow this case for me." Victor murmured to himself but in a way that Flora could hear.

"Did...did you have sex with me just to get me comfortable around you?" Flora stammered.

"Well, I had to do what I had to do to ensure that I would win this case. My career is depending on it." Victor answered matter of factly.

"What?" Flora was close to exploding with rage.

"Mr. Martin said that if I won this case that I would make partner. Martin, Johnson, & Collins. Plus, this was pro-bono, you couldn't blame me for wanting to get something out of the deal if I could."

"What do you mean by that?" Flora placed a hand on her hip.

"Think of our arrangement as I scratch your back and you scratch mine. I give you free legal counsel, I get some of...you."

"Excuse me!? I didn't think of it this way at all!" Flora yelled.

The Winx and Specialists, along with Helia, walked out of the courtroom and saw Flora and Victor yelling at each other. Bloom was about to step in but Sky pulled her back.

"I don't think that this is something that we need to be getting involved in." Sky whispered to Bloom and the rest of the gang.

"SO YOU USED ME!" Flora screamed, loud enough for the whole hallway to hear.

"What? Like you didn't use me to get over Helia." Victor scoffed as he rolled his eyes.

"What are you talking about?" Flora growled.

"Please, like I wasn't just someone to keep your mind off of him."

He was right.

"I bet every time we were together, every time we kissed, every time we had sex, all you did was think of him."

He was right again. Flora was silent.

"So I guess we are even." Victor muttered low enough that only Flora could hear. "Pull yourself together and meet me back in the courtroom in twenty minutes."

Victor stormed down the hallway and out of the courthouse. Flora stood there, tears once again escaping her eyes.

"Flora?" Bloom whispered.

Flora turned around to see the Winx, the Specialists, and worst of all, Helia standing behind her.

"I guess you heard all of that?" Flora asked through tears as she made eye contact with Helia. "Go ahead and call me a slut or a whore! You saw me on the tape! I took it like a real champ didn't I? I moaned for him and gave him everything that he wanted and I liked it. You saw how wet I was! Hell, you could hear how wet I was! Tell me you told me so! Tell me you wish I was a better person because I certainly wish I were one!" Flora's voice softened. "Tell me you hate me, because I hate me too."

Flora shoved past her friends and walked down the hall to the bathroom.


	20. Witness

Flora was in the bathroom, looking at herself in the mirror. She tugged down at the hem of her skirt and up at the collar. She felt used and naked. She just wanted to disappear. Flora looked at her face and saw that her mascara had run down her face and there were tear marks that went down her face. Her hair was a mess and her lipstick was ruined by her vomit. She looked terrible.

Flora splashed some water over her face when she heard the door to the bathroom open. Flora looked up to see the rest of the Winx in the bathroom.

"What are you doing here?" Flora asked as she took a paper towel and dried her face.

"We wanted to see if you were alright." Bloom said as she looked at Flora with concern and sadness.

"I'm fine. Being exposed to everyone is a great way to spend my Monday morning, not to mention I find out that I was just used as leverage for someone's career is pretty great too." Flora replied sarcastically.

"Flora, we know-"

"No you don't know! None of you will ever know!" Flora snapped.

The rest of the Winx looked down, knowing that their friend was right.

"I'm surprised you came to look for me. I thought that you all would have hated me." Flora sighed, calming down.

"Why would we hate you?" Aisha asked.

"Yeah, we literally just saw what you have been through and we could never hate you." Musa chimed in.

"But you heard me..." Flora said, "moaning. I liked it."

"Flora, we are not some dumb women who think that just because someone is moaning means that they want it. It is a normal and biological response. When my phone goes off on my lap, it feels good but that doesn't mean that I want to fuck my phone." Tecna interjected.

"What about the whole Victor thing? He was right, I guess he was just a way to get over Helia."

"Well, I can't really say much about that but I think that the rest of the girls and I are in agreement that you needed to do what you needed to do. You have to deal with the consequences but we are in no position to judge you." Bloom smiled.

"I bet Helia hates me. The way that I have treated him. I thought that Victor was what I needed. I really messed up." Flora lowered her head.

"Maybe, but there is no way to know for sure unless you talk to him. Just know that we will always be here for you." Aisha comforted Flora by bringing her into a hug. The rest of the girls gathered around and joined in the hug.

"Well, I guess I better get back in there and get this over with." Flora sighed as she broke away from the group hug.

"Not looking like that, darling." Stella gasped before pulling out mascara and lipstick from her purse.

"Typical, Stella." Musa laughed before being joined by the other girls.

Flora walked back into the courtroom followed by the other girls and took a seat next to Victor.

"Flora." Victor greeted her.

"That's Ms. Linphea to you. Let's just get this over with so we can both go home and never have to see each other again." Flora sneered.

"We have a whole other day of the trial." Victor scoffed in response.

"Either way. Just don't talk to me unless necessary."

"Fine with me."

The judge walked back into the room and everyone stood up as was customary.

"In the interest of saving time and emotional distress, I will not have Ms. Linphea take the stand and we will move on to the testimony of the defendant Mr. Charles." Judge Waters stated.

The defense attorney stood up, "My client waves his right for questioning."

"Excuse me?" the judge asked in shock.

"My client believes that he has said everything that needed to be said through the videos."

"And that is?"

"You can't trust a slut like Flora." Mr. Charles shouted.

Judge Waters banged his gavel, "Mr. Meyer! Please contain your client!"

Flora looked down and once again, her confidence was shot. She did not dare look at Victor or behind her to the Winx and the Specialists.

"In the interest of saving time, we will move on to witness testimonies." Judge Waters announced.

Victor stood up and buttoned up his suit jacket, "The prosecution calls Mr. Helia Saladin to the stand."

Flora heard shuffling behind her and saw from the corner of her eye as Helia made his way up to the front of the courtroom and ushered to the witness stand. Flora looked at him as he was sworn in, his face covered in seriousness and his eyes dark as he stared at Victor. Helia sat down and awaited questioning.

"Mr. Saladin, what relation do you have with the defendant?" Victor asked.

"None. At least, none that I am aware of." Helia answered.

"And what relationship do you have with Ms. Linphea?"

"We were friends at the time of the incident."

"Are you two not friendly with each other now?" Victor asked as he gave Helia a slight smirk.

"I am not sure what the nature of our relationship is now." Helia sternly replied.

Victor walked over to the prosecution table and picked up a sheet of paper.

"What happened on the night of November 14th?"

Helia sat upright in his chair, "I went to Flora's room, I was beginning to worry about her."

"Worry?"

"Yes, she had become distant and she was not acting like herself. It had been going on for about a month now. She had moved out of her old room that she shared with her best friends and I wanted to know what was wrong. I went to her room and I knocked. She refused to let me in but I needed to know what was wrong, especially when I saw marks on her neck."

"What happened next?"

"I demanded that she tell me what was wrong. If she was in pain, I wanted to help."

"What happened when Mr. Charles came?"

"He charged inside of the room and held a knife up to my throat. Flora begged him not to hurt me and for him to take her life instead. He removed the knife from my throat and held it to hers before stripping her and beating her. He made me watch as he violated her. I will never forget the look on her face, the sadness that it held."

"What did this make you feel?"

"Angry of course. And sad. No one should have to endure that kind of abuse, ever. I hated seeing her so used and in pain."

"What did you do next?"

"I saw that Mr. Charles released the knife as he was...I went and picked it up before driving it into the side of his torso."

"What compelled you to stab him instead of pulling him off?" Victor asked.

"That was all I could think of. I needed a guaranteed way to make him stop."

"Why did you do this?"

"Why did I want him to stop raping Flora? Are you seriously asking me that question?" Helia growled.

"Just answer the question, Mr. Saladin." Judge Waters ordered.

"Because I love her." Helia confessed. "I loved her then and I love her now."

Flora's head snapped up and met Helia's gaze. Flora could feel the tears run from her eyes once again. Helia's eyes lightened from the steel grey-blue to the sapphire color that comforted Flora.

"You love her?" Victor asked.

"I do. But I know she doesn't feel the same." Helia sighed.

"No, I suppose she doesn't." Victor smirked again. Flora and Helia both glared at Victor. "That is all, the prosecution rests."

Flora could not focus as Helia was being questioned by the defense. All she could think about was Helia's confession. He loved her and Flora was both happy and confused. How could he still love her after the way that she had acted towards him? She basically paraded Victor in front of him. She chose Victor over him. She didn't deserve Helia. At this moment, Flora felt like she did not deserve any happiness in her life.

Flora's train of thought was broken when the judge began to speak.

"After the closing statements, the jury will now deliberate. My office will call the attorneys who will notify their clients when a decision has been met. You are all dismissed."

Victor stood up and started to put papers in his briefcase. "I will text you when it is time to meet back. Don't go too far, I don't expect the deliberation to be long."

Flora nodded before watching Victor leave the courtroom, glares from her friends falling on him as he left.

Flora stood up and walked back to her friends before they exited the courtroom.

Once outside the courtroom, the Winx and the Specialists turned to Flora.

"What you did today was very brave. I don't think that I would have the strength to go through what you have gone through in the past two months. I think that I can say for everyone that we are proud of you and will support you no matter what." Sky announced to the group. The only thing that he was missing was his glass of champagne and the toast would have been complete.

"We love you, Flora." Brandon smiled to the blushing brunette woman.

"Thank you, I am glad that you are not mad at me, after what you saw today with the video and Victor." Flora sighed.

"Speaking of that asshole...where is he?" Riven asked only to receive a slap on the arm from Musa.

Flora laughed quietly before she heard a cough behind her. Flora turned around to see Helia standing in front of her, his hands in his pockets.

"Helia." Flora said as she looked at the pale man in front of her.

"I was wondering if I could speak to you...alone?" Helia asked as he looked over Flora's shoulder at the others.

"Sure." Flora whispered.

"We will leave you two alone then." Bloom said while grabbing Sky's hand. "If you need us, we will be in the cafe across the street grabbing some lunch."

"Thanks." Flora smiled towards her friends before they walked out of the courthouse.

Flora turned back around to face Helia. They stared at each other before they spoke each other's names at the same time,

"You first." Flora gave a small smile as she blushed.

"Do...do you want to go somewhere more private?" Helia asked.

"Sure."

 **What is going to happen? I think we all know but you does one ever really know? Guess you will have to keep reading to figure it out.**


	21. Kindness

Flora and Helia walked outside and sat on a small bench outside of the courtroom. They sat in silence as they stared out across the street, watching the cars drive by.

"Looks like that monster is going away for good." Helia ran a nervous hand through his hair.

"Thanks to you." Flora replied as she swung her legs back and forth under the bench, looking down at the cracked concrete.

"He is the one who did what he did, no need to thank me."

"Either way," Flora turned to face Helia, "thank you. I don't deserve it."

"Stop being so hard on yourself. I am finding it to be quite annoying. Not as annoying as you've been the past month." Helia scoffed.

Flora bent her head once more. "I'm sorry."

"Flora," Helia grabbed Flora's hands on an impulse, "I did what I had to do and not because of an obligation to do the right thing or that I felt sorry for you because at this point I was angry and upset. I did it because I still deeply care for you, Flora."

"Helia, I..."

"It doesn't matter what you say at this moment, I know how you feel about me." Helia dropped Flora's hands.

"I suppose it doesn't but I want to say that I am truly sorry for how I have acted this past month. I have been selfish and unkind. I know that you had my best interests at heart and I pushed you and everyone else away in some form or another. I was not myself, but it was still me doing those awful things. I trusted someone that I barely knew because I thought that he had my best interests at heart but it turns out that I was only being used for career points. But then again, I wasn't any better. I used him to get over the attack and to get over you. I knew I had fucked up and I honestly don't deserve and an ounce of kindness from you." Flora rambled.

"You're right, you don't deserve my kindness." Helia replied coldly and Flora sighed, "but I can't do that."

"You do whatever you see fit and I will accept it." Flora straightened up and tucked a piece of her hair behind her ear.

Helia inhaled and pinched the bridge of his nose. Surprising Flora, Helia began to laugh.

"What?" Flora asked looking at Helia.

"I just don't believe it," Helia ran his hands through his hair and looked up to the sky, "after everything that has happened, I should hate you." Helia stood up and placed his hands on his hips. Flora looked up, a tear escaping her left eye.

"But the thing is that I have loved you for years and I still love you. I love everything about you, even when you have been a pain in my ass and pushed me away. Some nights I wanted to run to your door and...God, I don't know what I would have done. Seeing you with Victor made me want to pull my hair out or better yet, pluck out my eyeballs. I should fucking hate you but I don't."

Flora looked up at Helia in silence as Helia stared down at her, his face holding a faint tinge of red.

"I...I don't know what I should do. I haven't known what to do for months. I thought I did but obviously, well, you know." Flora crossed her arms as she stood up.

"I don't know what to do either." Helia replied.

"Well both of us can't be clueless." Flora gave a light chuckle.

"Who said anything about the 'both of us'?" Helia sneered.

"I...I just...I wasn't thinking." Flora sighed.

Helia once again started to laugh but that wasn't what surprised Flora. Helia breathed out and took a step towards Flora, cupping her cheeks and bringing his lips down to hers. Flora melted into the kiss, after the initial shock wore out.

Pulling away, Flora panted, "I don't understand."

"I don't either." Helia replied as he placed his forehead onto Flora's. "But what I do understand is that I love you."

"I love you too."

Helia pulled Flora close and once again, placed his lips onto Flora's. Flora wrapped her arms around Helia's neck and pulled him as close as she could. She never wanted to let go of him, she never wanted to be apart from him again. He was her best friend and the one that she loved. She was sure of it now that nothing could ever make her stop loving him. And Helia felt the same. Nothing would ever make him stop loving Flora.

"Ahem" Helia and Flora were interrupted by a voice that she never wanted to hear again.

"I hope I am not interrupting your...display," Flora and Helia turned to see Victor standing at the door, "they are ready...for us." Victor announced as he eyed Helia up and down.

"Are you ready?" Helia asked Flora.

"I am." Helia bent his head and gave Flora a tender kiss on the forehead before placing one on her lips.

"God, would you hurry up?" Victor asked as he slapped his hand onto his leg in aggravation.

"I guess I better get going." Flora smiled to Helia.

Flora walked back into the courthouse, Helia following close behind, both glaring at Victor on the way in.

When inside, Flora went to the prosecution table and sat down next to Victor. She turned to see her friends walk inside and Helia sitting at the back of the courtroom, the same place that he was in before. However, instead of a dark and serious look that was on his face in the morning, it was replaced by one of warmth and caring. Flora felt her heart flutter, but for the right reason.

"All rise," the bailiff announced and the people in the courtroom stood up, "the Honorable Judge Waters presiding."

"You may all be seated."

Everyone took their seats and Flora released a large breath of air. The world seemed to stop as the head juror stood up to read out the verdict. Flora felt as though she went deaf because she could not hear anything. It wasn't until she felt a hand on her shoulder that she was brought back to reality.

"Congratulations, Flora." Victor gave a small smile as he rubbed her shoulder tentatively.

Flora blinked rapidly before she turned to give a small smile towards Victor. "Thank you." She shook his hand before standing up and turning to face her friends.

"You did it, Flora! He is going away for good!" Stella exclaimed.

"It's just the verdict, he will come back for sentencing next month." Brandon corrected whilst walking up to the girls with the rest of the guys.

"Either way, he is guilty and will have to face the music. And I hope that it is awful music." Stella stuck out her tongue towards Brandon.

"I just want to say thank you to all of you. For being with me when I haven't been the best person recently." Flora timidly said to her friends.

"Flora, we would do anything for you, you are our best friend. Plus, you have nothing to apologize for anything after what has happened. But, if you'd like to, you can buy the first round of shots at the bar tonight." Riven chimed in.

"You've got it." Flora gave a thumbs up towards Riven earning her a fist bump in the air of triumph from Riven.

"Congratulations, Flora." Helia smiled.

"It's not over yet." Flora replied.

"Why is that? He is guilty, he won't ever bother you again." Helia questioned as he walked towards Flora.

"But he will. I will have to live with what he did to me my entire life." Flora sighed.

"But now you will have me by your side every step of the way, no matter what." Helia said as he grabbed Flora's hand.

"You will have all of us." Bloom smiled as she looked at Flora.

"Thanks, guys." Flora looked up and smiled, "Now let's go get those drinks."

 **Sorry that I have not updated in forever but I have been busy and I am going through some personal stuff. I am going to end the story here BUT I am thinking about doing a sequel to this story. What do you all think? Let me know!**


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